Coda
"Call me crazy," Rean said blearily, the infant's sudden wail piercing the blessed silence, "But I'm starting to feel like we've been here before."
Unsurprisingly, that drew a snort from the blonde next to him. "And what do you want me to do about it, exactly? Our kid's got a pair of lungs on him, what can I say?"
"Yeah, no kidding. I wonder where he gets *that* from," he quipped, propping himself up on an elbow and cracking one eye open to gaze at his wife fondly.
An exhausted sigh. "You know, I'm not even sure if you actually just said that or if my delirious brain is just making things up so I have an excuse to never let you touch me again," Alisa grumbled. "That's how tired I am right now."
"Little of column A, little of column B," the swordsman deadpanned, sitting up in their bed with a loud yawn. "Stay here, okay? I've got this one."
She frowned a little at that. "Are you sure? What if he's – "
"You just fed him a little while ago, and you changed him a little before that," Rean reminded her as he slowly climbed to his feet, all the while wondering how any set of parents made it out of the newborn phase with their sanity intact. "I don't think it's possible for digestive systems to work that fast."
As soon as Rean heard the weak 'mmm', he knew he had won. "If you're sure," came the archer's drowsy reply, her eyes fluttering closed. "But come get me if you need me, okay?"
"Promise," he whispered, bending down to kiss her forehead briefly. "Now, try to get as much sleep as you can, all right? I have a feeling you'll be up again sooner rather than later."
"Much is kind of a relative term here," Alisa sighed, before she tugged the discarded blanket closer and curled up comfortably. "But sure."
"Good. Be back soon."
With that, the Ashen Chevalier crept out as quietly as he could and made his way to the nursery next door, where he was greeted by the eardrum shattering cries of an exceptionally cranky newborn boy.
… *Their* newborn boy. Their son. Nine months he and Alisa had impatiently waited to meet this newcomer, and it still amazed and frightened them both just how quickly they had fallen in love with this tiny little being… loud and upset as he currently was.
"Hey there," Rean whispered, reaching down into the cradle and smoothing down the sparse, fine hairs on his son's head. They were still dark brown, a mix between his dark and Alisa's light, and they couldn't help but wonder what color it would be when it started growing out in earnest.
(Personally, the father was pulling for blonde. He had already inherited Rean's fuchsia eyes, and the swordsman was nothing if not fair).
"What's wrong?" he soothed, gingerly scooping the baby into his arms and resisting the urge to laugh in delight when the cries ceased immediately, the child staring up at him with what he was pretty sure was curiosity. "Mommy's trying to sleep right now, you know."
No answer, though it wasn't as if Rean was expecting one. "Well, I was right about you not being wet," he murmured, the blue blanket looking as dry as it had earlier. "And if you quieted down that fast then you're definitely not hungry. So, what's the problem? You just want some company?"
He was pretty sure the happy sounding gurgle was nothing but coincidence, but it warmed his heart just the same. "Oh, so that's it then, huh?"
They made their presence felt, they didn't like being alone, and Rean was completely wrapped around their fingers. He felt his lips curl up into a playful smirk. This boy definitely took after his mother, there was no doubt about that.
"You were lonely, weren't you?" Rean hummed, rocking the infant back and forth, his voice warm and low. "Sorry about that. We thought you were sleeping, so we thought we'd try to do the same thing. Silly us, right?"
As difficult as it had been recently, Rean had been glad that he and Alisa had held firm to wanting to deal with the initial days of parenthood by themselves; Gwyn and Sharon had practically been chomping at the bit to help babysit their great grandson and nephew respectively, and his mom, dad and Elise – along with the rest of the villagers – had made it clear that Ymir had an open door. Irina had been far more reticent, of course, but during Alisa's third trimester when she had come up to what had been her old room one day only to find that virtually the entire wing had been converted into a nursery… well, suffice to say the Reinford head wasn't exactly unhappy at the prospect of being a grandmother.
With all that being said, the couple had been determined to at least see the most difficult part through to the end as independently as they possibly could; while they weren't turning down help if it was sorely needed, they also didn't want to be taking the easy way out, either.
They were still Class VII alumni, after all, and Rean and Alisa would forever carry the pride that came with that title. Old habits died hard.
He swallowed hard, feeling a lump form in his throat. "Maybe I'm being a little premature right now, but I can't wait to see the things you'll do, the places you'll go. The Empire's changed a lot since Mommy and Daddy first met, you know."
Rean swept his arm across an imaginary horizon. "One day, you'll be sitting in a classroom, and you'll learn about all the amazing things our country's been through. You'll learn about our nation's history, and what formed it and shaped it for good or for ill. And most importantly, you'll learn how people lived, laughed, and loved through it all, no matter how bad it got or how hopeless it seemed."
So entranced was he by his son's wide eyes that he didn't even notice the quiet footsteps stop just outside the doorway, nor the tender gaze that settled on the pair moments later.
"And when you're old enough, I'll have the most amazing stories to tell you, and you won't find them in any book. Stories about Divine Knights, talking cats, and the best friends that Mommy and Daddy could have ever asked for, and the incredible thing is?" Rean asked dramatically, his voice rising slightly at the end for effect. "They'll all be true. Every single one."
"Speaking of friends; you probably don't know this yet, but you have so many aunts and uncles it's not even funny. They all want to meet you, and hold you, and tell you embarrassing stories about us that will, regrettably, also be true. Every single one."
A second later, he revised that statement. "Actually, if you ever end up dreaming about a silver haired man in a headband, take whatever he says with a grain of salt. The same goes for a purple haired woman who's still very much alive, but I'm sure you'll find out for yourself when the time comes."
"Also?" he added with a snap of his fingers. "If a tiny blue haired one asks you if you want a ride on Lammy, for the love of Aidios say no. I don't think my heart could take it."
"Okay Daddy," a high pitched voice behind him said, and Rean bit back a cry of surprise as he wheeled around to see a smiling Alisa standing at the door. "Sorry. Scared you, did I?" she asked without a trace of shame.
"A little bit," Rean quipped, walking over to his wife before he let out a theatrical gasp. "Hey, look! Who's that? I think that's Mommy," he whispered, the faux excitement making the blonde roll her eyes affectionately. "She's supposed to be sleeping. What's she doing here?" he asked, the infant's pleased gurgles indicating that certainly he recognized his mother.
"Silly Daddy," Alisa declared dramatically, holding her arms out. "Mommy got lonely. Now gimme."
"If you insist," he sighed, carefully depositing the child into her arms. "He's actually been pretty well behaved since he's quieted down. I think he just wanted some attention."
She had known Rean far too long for the subtext to go unnoticed.
"… You're thinking something right now, aren't you," Alisa asked flatly, and the innocent look Rean gave her told her all she needed to know.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Uh huh. I'm sure."
A pair of red eyes softened as a finger reached out to softly trace a chubby cheek. "Hi there, sweetheart. Did you miss Mommy and Daddy?"
Rean slid his arms around her waist from behind her, burying his nose into her golden mane with a content sigh. "I think he did. How much of that did you hear, anyway?"
"All of it, and I'll tell you now – and Daddy should treasure this, because he doesn't hear it often – that everything he said was absolutely right."
"I felt weird hearing that. Should I have felt weird hearing that?"
"Yes, dear. Anyway," she continued, her heart full of affection and joy, "Your aunts and uncles are some of the best people we've ever met, and they're going to fall in love with you almost as quickly as we did. Same with your grandparents and great grandfather… though don't be surprised if he decides to speed the process along."
"Dare I ask what that means?" Rean inquired, his curiosity piqued.
"Well, let's just say Grandpa wasn't opposed to supplying candy at times when it… probably shouldn't have been supplied," Alisa admitted candidly.
He couldn't help but laugh at that. "Gwyn bought your love? Irina must have been thrilled with that."
Alisa shrugged primly. "Well, it's only natural for a grandfather to want to spoil his adorable granddaughter – and in this case, adorable great grandson."
She looked down in a mock glare. "So when the time comes, you can say whatever you want when I ask you and so can he, but trust me; I'll know."
"Mommy's telling the truth. She has a sense for that sort of thing," Rean sighed, before he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "Hey."
"Hey yourself."
"So, we're both still semi-conscious a few weeks into this parenting thing. How's that possible?"
"Well, everyone we've talked to says that the lack of sleep is something that you eventually get used to, right? Maybe we're just getting used to it."
Rean chuckled. "Someone should have told Machias. How long did Celine say it took before he stopped looking absolutely blitzed?"
"I think it was around the time Vita made that unscheduled stop in Heimdallr to meet her niece. Apparently she almost gave him a heart attack."
"Haha. I can't blame him there. If I walked in and saw an Anguis standing above our child's crib in the middle of the night, I'd probably freak out too."
"Well, at least Emma was there to smooth things over," she giggled, happy for her friend that her sister figure had cared, and her brow wrinkled a little when Rean didn't reply.
"Rean? Is everything all right?"
He didn't even hear her at first, full of contentment and peace as he was.
"Yeah," he finally murmured into her hair, and it was impossible for her not to notice the sudden thickness in his voice.
"… Hey. What is it?"
"Nothing. It's just… I love you both, you know. I love you both so, so much," and despite herself Alisa couldn't stop her eyes from filling.
You see, she knew that once upon a time there had been a boy who wasn't sure if he would ever be this happy, if he would ever *deserve* to be this happy, if he would ever be worth the affection and friendship that he would hand to so many others without a thought. But as fate and fortune would have it, there would be a family that would love him, a class that would love him, and a girl that would love him, and at the end of a long and winding road the boy would stand tall and proud with the girl and everyone else who had made him whole, having finally found the happiness that had eluded him for so long.
She would be more than happy to leave the many stories about Awakeners and Knights to Rean and the others. When all was said and done, she knew without a doubt that this was the tale that she wanted to pass on.
"I love you too," Alisa breathed back, unable to stop the happy tears from coursing down her cheeks. "The both of you. So much," she echoed, laughing all the while.
She felt him nod then, and her eyes fluttered shut as she kept slowly rocking the tiny form, listening intently to the steady rhythm of his gentle breaths.
"He's almost asleep, isn't he?" Rean finally asked.
"I think so," she replied, smiling fondly at the half lidded eyes. "But we should make sure he's out before we go back to bed."
"You read my mind," he agreed, before motioning to the chair in the corner. "And I think a good story from his parents should be enough to send him to dreamland."
"And what kind of story did you have in mind, Rean? Anything with the Courageous or Valimar is just going to keep him awake. Too much excitement," she teased, curling into his lap as they both sat down.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I've got a good one. You should chime in too; you'll know when, I think."
Alisa looked confused at that, only for her to start laughing with delight when he started speaking again, everything suddenly becoming crystal clear.
Goddess above, how she loved her family.
"Once upon a time," Rean began, mindful not to raise his voice too much, "A boy and a girl boarded a train that was bound for a small town called Trista…"
AN: Stereotypical ending. Sue me.
Anyway, with all the CSIII hoopla going about and the feel-good syndrome that the holiday season causes in full effect, I went back to the 'happily ever after' well that I went to for Home and wound up with this. For the few who care, this takes place in the same universe as most of my M/E stories (Eight by Eight, etc...) I honestly don't know how hard CSIII will blow the possibility of this to hell, but I can hope, can't I?
Also, I kept the kid nameless intentionally as a design choice; hopefully it was one that worked!