#tlcshipweeks winter x jacin theme: trouble
A/N: This is set 10 years post-Winter.
Also, I incorporated some modern day stuff into this fic because I didn't know if it had already been described as something different in the series. And in this fic, kettles did not exist on Luna – I have no idea how they boiled their water on Luna :)
And… I kind of have this thing in my head where Winter never gets used to Cinder as, well, 'Cinder' and still calls her Selene. Just so you know ;)
Jacin stares at the kettle as it boils, still not quite believing that such an unusual-looking device completes a task as simple as boiling water. He watches through the clear window set into the side of the appliance as the water bubbles frantically. He watches as the kettle begins to shake violently in its cradle, puffing clouds of steam into the air above his head. It makes him sweat – but only a little.
He finds a mug to pour the water into and drops in a teabag, adding in some milk to finish off the concoction. He picks up the cup of tea and walks it over to where Winter is seated in a rocking chair, taking slow and steady steps as to not spill the hot liquid all over himself.
"Hey, Trouble," he says. "I brought you some tea." When he looks into her eyes a smile stretches across his face, and he's still not quite used to the freedom of smiling whenever he wants, even ten years after the reign of Queen Levana, even when he and Winter are staying on Earth – far away from Luna – in the New Beijing palace.
She accepts the mug from his outstretched hands and returns his smile with one of her own. "Thank you." She lifts the cup to her lips and takes a sip, humming softly in appreciation. She looks tired, but then she looks tired all the time these days. "So," she draws out, shifting her attention back to Jacin. "I talked to Selene this morning and we've decided to go out for a walk."
Jacin's smile disappears instantly. "No."
"But, Jacin, we—"
"I said no."
"—are just going t—"
'I said no, Winter. Don't you understand—"
"No, it's you who doesn't understand." She places the mug still filled with tea to the side, and pushes out of the rocking chair. "I need some freedom! I will become even crazier than I already am if I have to sit around for months doing nothing, all for the sake of rest. And yes, the doctor says it's for my health, but the longer I sit around, the worse I feel, Jacin." She stops, taking long, even breaths in an attempt to calm down.
"Winter," Jacin whispers, feeling slightly guilty to have caused her stress during an attempt to avoid it. "I'm just worried. Your mother— there were complications—"
Her fingers circle his wrist and gently drag his hand forward to rest on her protruding stomach. There, he can feels the periodic kicking of their baby as it grows within her. "I'm fine," Winter whispers back. "She's fine."
Jacin takes a deep breath in, similar to what she done not moments before. "Okay, I'll come with you on your walk with Cinder, just to make sure everything is okay and nothing goes wrong." He breathes in again, and breathes out.
"You won't have to. What I was going to say before you cut in—" she gives him a knowing look, and he backs down almost instantly "—is that Selene and I are planning to go for a walk in the palace gardens. Hardly any distance away from the palace, but it would be nice to get some fresh air and just talk with Selene for a while." She looks down at her stomach, where Jacin's hand still rests, and places her hand on their unborn child, too. "I'm hoping that Selene and I will become best of friends and it will be like when we were children, and that our children will be like us and also become best friends."
Jacin sees the gentle smile on her lips, the hopeful gleam in her eyes, and gives up. "Okay, but just make sure there's a palace guard nearby, or something? Please?"
"Oh, don't you worry. Selene says Kaito doesn't let her go anywhere without a guard these days, especially when he cannot be with her." A light knock echoes through the heavy wooden door Winter and Jacin reside behind, and Winter beams. "That must be Selene!"
Winter swings the door open in delight to reveal a heavily-pregnant Cinder. "Are you ready for some freedom, Winter?" she asks with a teasing look Jacin's way. Jacin glares at her, but there isn't any force behind it. Cinder just laughs and grabs at Winter's hand, pulling her towards the door and towards "freedom". They're both forced to walk in what Jacin can only call a waddle in order to balance their weight with the weight of the babies they are carrying.
"Wait!" Jacin cries, and quickly rushes over to Winter. He takes her face between his hands and kisses her gently, saying, "Stay out of trouble, Trouble." Winter giggles as he gets down onto his knees and kisses her stomach. "And keep her out of trouble, Trouble Junior."
Jacin watches as they disappear through the door and calms by just thinking about the happiness writing across every line of Winter's face.
After some time has passed – longer than he would have liked – Jacin goes searching for Winter. He's only slightly worried, but he's sure that his worry will build like a hurricane until he confirms that Winter and their baby are safe and okay.
He finds himself standing outside the personal rooms of the emperor and empress. He asks the guard standing outside the doorway, "Are they in there?"
The guard gives him a small, soft smile and nods his head, opening the door to allow Jacin inside. What he discovers is blankets, everywhere, stretched from one end of the room to the other. Vaguely he realises that it looks similar to what he remembers of their playhouse as children. He crosses the room to where he can see an opening in all the blankets, and inside he can see Winter and Cinder, fast asleep, facing each other and legs curled into themselves. There are soft smiles on both of their faces and he finds himself smiling, too.
He hears footsteps approach him from behind and looks up to see Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth standing there. Kai stares at his wife, his gaze trailing down her body to check for any signs of distress and lingering on where his unborn child grows within her. It's a gaze that Jacin knows well, and one that he had performed himself not moments before.
"The trouble they get up to," Kai whispers to the air, glancing at Jacin and smiling slightly. "It only goes uphill from here."
Jacin smiles back at the emperor, one of the few people he could call his friend, and can feel a similar emotion to what he can see shining in Kai's eyes reflected within his heart. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."