Disclaimer: I do not own Valvrave the Liberator or any of its characters. I just own my feels after watching the last episode.

Warning: Yaoi fic. MPREG. Slightly AU from canon. Heavily implied smut scenes.

Rating: T for this chapter.

Pairing: Tokishima Haruto X L-Elf (Mikhail), L-Elf X Lieselotte. One-sided Haruto X Saki. Eventual one-sided Tokishima Haruto X Shoko.

A/N: This is a fic born out of frustration from the last episode having tons of questions unanswered. I'll try to keep to canon as much as I can, but at some point the plot is going to deviate. Also, do take note that some chars who are supposed to die may not be dead.

Guest, ehehe. L-Elf still being really tsundere about a lot of things, so yeah, expect him to still be pretty bitter. Satomi is the type who plans from the start to the end. He was the former student council president after all. XD

Guest, yeah, the prince looked totally like them. I imagined one of the scenes in the anime with him all dressed up like the Fuhrer (during Renboukouji's wedding), he was probably already pregnant at that time, and he had that sad smile on his face because he was picturing him and Haruto being the ones married if the latter were still alive. Sigh…it would be nice if someone could write that. XD

XXX

By the way, if any of you haven't done so yet, the previous chapter has been updated an extra birth scene (dedicated to reviewers, those who were hoping for something that wasn't a C-Section, and fellow MPREG pervs. Kekekekeke.). If you are able to stomach it, do read and review. If you aren't, then please enjoy this chapter and do read and review. :p

This chapter was originally a lot longer (19 pages in Microsoft Word and still ongoing), but I've decided to separate them into two chapters, or goodness knows when I'm going to update. I'll try to get chapter 5 up in two weeks' time. It's the assignment period now though, so I'll be a little busy. I apologise for the delay in the update this round too.

To the story then…

Friends With Benefits

By: Gwynhafra86

Chapter 4

Even after A-Drei ordered the surgeons to leave, giving L-Elf some privacy to hold the newborn male child, the silver-haired tactician didn't quite know what to think of the situation. A-Drei didn't know what he seemed to be upset about, and L-Elf was not going to be enlightening him anytime soon. Minutes after the door closed behind the surgeons, L-Elf still didn't seem to be moving, and A-Drei left after promising to get a bottle for the baby.

L-Elf lay back and exhaled slightly, feeling suddenly weary. He'd ponder what his next plan past that point was going to be after Tokishima Haruto returned. For now, he'd do something about the child crying fiercely in his arms. As much of a hardened soldier as he was, even he wouldn't leave a newborn unattended, especially one he carried for months.

He held the baby boy in his left arm, the one with needles attached to it from an IV drip, and used his right hand to adjust the baby's towel, wrapping it tightly around the tiny form. He figured that instead of hunger, the baby was crying because it was cold. His guess was right, as the baby stopped crying and went to sleep almost immediately, his mood changing as fast as Haruto's did. L-Elf gave a soft huff of humourless laughter at that. The brat was quick to identify with at least one half of his parentage. He set the child to his right, put his right arm around him and held him to his side, as his common sense told him that newborns wouldn't be able to regulate their body temperature well. He needed to share his body heat with the child. Once that was done, he too closed his eyes. He had a lot of healing to do, mentally and physically.

At least now he understood why Lieselotte had laughed in his dreams. She knew that he was carrying a male child. It wasn't out of his calculations, since there was a 50 percent chance the child's gender could go either way, but he did not entertain the possibility during his months as a carrier. He wasn't too sure if he'd still be able to take that gamble and keep the child if he had known earlier that he was carrying a boy. Speaking of which, it was strange that he had been to a few checkups, but the doctor had never informed him of the child gender…

Oh wait…the doctor did try. L-Elf drew a blade after the oblivious doc kept calling him the child's "mother"…

…which brought him back to his current dilemma. L-Elf made his choice when he took the gamble and kept the kid, and now said product was sleeping next to him. He called himself a carrier…no…a former carrier. To the rest of the world, his status had a major update to that of a new parent.

There was a wrench thrown into his otherwise spotless plan there. For all his intelligence…he didn't know how to be a parent. He could not remember his own parents, as his most vivid memories were of his days in Karlstein Academy, and the constant bloodshed of others for his own sake of staying alive. The books said something about a how-to for dummies carrying out that unfortunate duty, but there was going to be something lacking during the raising of the child. He was pretty sure he knew enough, (and what he didn't know he'd make do along the way using his own common sense) to ensure the child's survival by attending to his basic needs. It was the affective aspect of parenting which he could not pick up, especially when dealing with a child who was half Haruto's and most likely to have emotional needs too. He highly doubted that Haruto, who had no cow sense whatsoever when facing enemies, would know anything about parenting either.

XXX

Coming back to when he revealed the child to Haruto, he observed the brunette's reaction now that reality was shown to his face - all healthy eight pounds of it. L-Elf could see Haruto's eyes widen, and knew that he too noticed the child's gender almost immediately. After a moment, Haruto took firm steps forward, resuming his walk towards the bed. He reached L-Elf's side and, at receiving no sign of resistance from the silver-haired teen, bent down and carefully slipped his hands under the newborn, picking him up and cradling him carefully. L-Elf observed with some curiosity as to what the JIOR-ian would do next.

The wide-eyed, silly expression on Haruto's face remained as the brunette continued staring at the child, taking in his features. After a while the look melted, as a wide smile made its way to his face. Haruto didn't seem to mind the child being male just as long as the child was born safely. He spoke up, his voice shaking with both happiness and pride. "Hello." He told the male child. L-Elf hoped he wasn't actually expecting an answer. Haruto continued on, and L-Elf tried to quash the ridiculousness of seeing his lover speak to a sleeping baby who was way too young to understand language. "I…I've wanted to meet you. I'm your daddy." The child squirmed a little in his hold, then went back to sleep in his human cradle. Haruto kissed the child on the forehead before walking over to L-Elf. "Thank you, L-Elf. For him. He's wonderful." There were tears gleaming in Haruto's blue eyes. L-Elf wondered if there was even a need to cry at seeing a newborn baby. Haruto had always been the sentimental half, but this time, he really did take the cake.

L-Elf had read up on what to expect of new parents, and what new parents' reactions were like. Haruto was demonstrating what he couldn't quite relate to himself. He was initially hoping that Haruto would be as lost at this as he was, just so that L-Elf could still remain one step ahead of him, but Haruto's natural take to parenting made him feel like he lost to the brunette in some way. At the very least, it confirmed L-Elf to be emotionally defective.

Haruto was very taken to his newborn son. L-Elf didn't know if this was yet another delayed reaction, or if the responsibility of being a parent hadn't fully sunken into that brunette's skull yet, but it did somehow spark a competitive streak in the Dorssian. There was no way he was going to allow someone so incompetent at most tasks to best him at this.

L-Elf had a lot of healing to do, and somehow both his lover, Haruto, and his closest friend, A-Drei, seemed to take it as if he had lost a limb, and treated him as if he were an invalid. A-Drei gave him the orders, as his superior, to remain on constant bed rest. Haruto came over frequently to hold the child, and also to enquire L-Elf's wellbeing. L-Elf tolerated him because he did bring a lot of news from outside, as well as JIOR-ian and Dorssian treats.

For the first two weeks of the child's life, L-Elf decided that since he had nothing better to do, he'd be the main person to care for the child. He needed to pass time anyway. To recover quicker, he had to move about occasionally, walking around the room but not out of the ward he was in. As he spent more time with the newborn, he found himself less irked by the idea of the child being male than he initially thought. He didn't know how this child would fit into his plans, but that was not happening anytime soon. There was nothing about the baby which resembled a monster. Granted, the Magius were beings of the soul (or at least that was what Haruto told him, quoting Lieselotte's words), and they took human form since they normally possessed a human host. It was only when they used those strange powers of theirs could they be told apart from humans. Another way was to physically injure them. Their rapid regeneration ability would give them away.

L-Elf did actually ponder that possibility. From his daily observation of the child, the baby was a picture of helplessness, probably unable to tell apart friends or foes as long as he had arms to cradle him. Mouth movements from the child produced no bursts of green energy, but rather endless, hungry cries. He was fully dependant on L-Elf for protection and nourishment, and just like any other human baby, it definitely wasn't Runes he fed from his maternal parent. After a week and still no sign of the baby using any Magius ability, L-Elf picked up a small blade which Haruto left on his bedside table after cutting him some fruits, and debated using it to check for the child's regeneration abilities. It was the only way left to find out. The baby was sleeping next to him, completely defenseless, and at this point even if L-Elf did anything to him, he was pretty sure the baby was too young to remember it, or to have any lasting trauma from it.

He brought the blade closer, intending just to do a tiny prick on the baby's skin. The baby's tiny hands were clenched into fists, and when L-Elf used one of his own fingers to unclench the baby's fists, the baby shifted, then abruptly wrapped his whole hand around L-Elf's finger, gripping it tightly.

L-Elf froze, the hand holding the blade shaking slightly. He tried again, but found that he couldn't bring himself to harm the child, even if only a bit. When the baby moved again, the other hand dangerously close to grazing against the sharp part of the blade, L-Elf tossed the knife aside, out of the child's reach. He lay down and watched the child, who was still keeping his finger hostage in one small fist. Giving a soft huff, he thought that he was getting weak if he was actually allowing emotions to seep in. He should stop letting Haruto influence him. He blamed it on the hormones still lingering in his body and decided that it wouldn't hurt to have a bit of weakness now, at least until recovered his physical strength. Pulling the child closer to share his warmth, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

XXXXXX

The reactions from Dorssians, JIOR-ians and ARUS citizens intensified once word spread about the hybrid child's birth. There were varying reactions again, both those fascinated and fearful. The Magius of Neo-Dorssia extended their congratulations to Haruto and L-Elf over the birth of their child, and while some humans shared their sentiments, the rest were a lot more sceptical, as they took their opinions to WIRED, spreading their fears and feelings of distaste to other users of WIRED, even those from Dorssia and ARUS. The former students of Sakimori Academy, especially friends of those killed when ARUS' soldiers opened fire in the school, were especially harsh in their comments, not liking how the Magius population increased. Months of being back with their families did nothing to decrease their hostility against Haruto, L-Elf and the newborn. They were direct in their demands to have the man-eating monster killed, especially now that it was still a baby and defenseless.

Well…maybe not that defenseless, considering who the kid had as a parent, one who remained with him 24/7. Still, when L-Elf refused all interviews and made no public appearance, the WIRED users figured that he was still physically weak and required time to recover. They weren't actually wrong. L-Elf was physically a lot weaker than his usual self, especially the first few days after the child was extracted from his body. Of course, security was heavy around the Regent during this period, but during the second week of the child's life, a spy did manage to infiltrate after impersonating a Dorssian officer. The guy somehow managed to sneak past security and even Tokishima Haruto, who usually lingered nearby, and made his way to the medical wing, even going all the way up to the sleeping parent and child's bedside.

When the man raised a blade, however, L-Elf's senses, honed from many years of battling for his own life, kicked in immediately. He woke and countered the man's attempt at killing his baby, but his movements weren't quick enough thanks to his weakened body. The intruder did manage to nick a tiny cut on the baby's arm. The newborn screamed with pain, and somehow the cries awakened a sort of rage in L-Elf he didn't realise he was capable of having. When the guards and Tokishima Haruto came rushing in at hearing the child's cries, they found the enemy spy lying dead at L-Elf's feet. The silver-haired had to be looked at by a medic right after that fight though, for he had reopened his stitches.

While the medic worked on him, Haruto picked up their son, cooing and trying to calm him. He continued speaking softly, at least until the baby hiccoughed and became quiet. The brunette inspected the child for injuries, looking pained when he spotted the cut on the baby's arm. L-Elf wasn't worried though. The child was half artificial-Magius. A cut like that was nothing to his regeneration abilities.

"L-Elf…" The tone Haruto used told him that something wasn't going according to his scenario though. The brunette walked over to him and showed him the baby's arm. "The cut…it isn't healing…"

His gamble was going a bad direction. The only two reasons he kept the child – for the possibility of being able to give it Lieselotte's name, and the possibility of using its abilities to turn the tide of war – were both out of the question. Perhaps the child was a lot more human than he initially predicted, or Haruto's abilities were non-transferable. As L-Elf watched the baby sleeping against his chest, a baby who had to heal the slow, human way, he realised that his plans were getting a lot harder to write out than he thought.

XXXXXXXXX

There was a drastic change after the attempted assassination of the Neo-Dorssian royal child failed – the people's attitude towards the baby in particular. Dorssian news reassured people that the baby was fine, and that it only had slight injuries from the attempt. Injuries, however, were an indication that he was only human. When he was first born, the child was treated with contempt by those who feared the Magius. Back then he was portrayed on WIRED as a little human-eating monster, but now the students changed their tune and finally saw him as the pink-cheeked, adorable baby he was. They spread their well-wishes to the child and his parents, or at least, the human one. A hype started after that, simply because the circumstances of the child's birth were extraordinary. The child was born from the union of two men, an Artificial Magius and human hybrid, and half JIOR-ian, half-Dorssian. It was not a common occurrence.

Just like the day when L-Elf first infiltrated JIOR, the students did not have qualms about sharing pictures which were supposed to be kept secret. As the hype over the child grew, they continued to display their absolute lack of common sense by spreading his pictures all over WIRED, and pictures of the baby's injured arm, taken by a crafty reporter when L-Elf was sedated after the surgery, went viral, even as students used it to justify exactly how human he was.

L-Elf was enraged. Once he recovered enough to smash his fist into the next reporter who tried to sneak up on the child, he gave strict orders for pictures of his baby to be taken off WIRED. Damn all these fools for revealing too much information about the child, and damn that Tokishima Haruto for being too soft to throw these people bodily out of the room.

Being completely oblivious to what they had done, these users then continued the hype with having their own Guess the Name contests. The organizers wrote in to L-Elf with the suggestion of having the winning name actually given to the child. L-Elf promptly turned that proposal into fireplace material. The issue of the child's name brought about another major fight, one which broke out into a slight war over WIRED - Should the child be given a JIOR-ian name or a Dorssian name? Was the child, by Nationality, JIOR-ian or Dorssian?

Then came the arguments. Silly, petty excuses to the child's parentage which made L-Elf's head pound because his level of intelligence could not comprehend it. The JIOR-ans, who once rejected their claim on the child, now wanted the child to be declared a JIOR-ian, simply because "the child's father is JIOR-ian". They seemed to have conveniently set aside the fact that he was also an Artificial Magius. A-Drei responded immediately to that claim, angrily protesting that L-Elf was the one who bore the child, so the child was Dorssian. L-Elf knew that A-Drei wouldn't back down so easily over this issue, since he was L-Elf's closest friend, and he was also there during the child's birth, and became just as attached to the baby as Haruto was.

It then came to a matter of looks. One side claimed that the child looked JIOR-ian. Another pointed out that JIOR-ian babies were born with a whole head full of hair, but this child was born bald, like a Dorssian. As the arguments got more ridiculous, Haruto, being the meek man he was, decided to keep mum over the topic and took neither side. L-Elf was the one who put his foot down, as he gave an official statement. "My son is neither JIOR-ian nor Dorssian. He was born in Neo-Dorssia, and therefore he will be officially a Neo-Dorssian citizen. If any of you dare to make another claim over my son, you will have to face me in one on one combat first."

After that statement was given, some WIRED users really did try to urge someone to take up the challenge, seemingly forgetting L-Elf's nickname. Some people, who were so brainless they made Yamada seem intelligent by comparison, actually turned up at Neo-Dorssia amidst cyber cheers from people who were too cowardly to face L-Elf themselves. L-Elf sent them home with some permanent bone restructuring, and ever since then no one else dared to try. The issue was resolved…peacefully.

There was still another issue at hand though. The child's name. It did seem strange that even after slightly over two weeks since the child was born, there was no official record on the child's name, almost as if he didn't have one. L-Elf had been pushing off the task of naming him, but knew that he could no longer delay it. He received word from one of his men that President Sashinami, having obviously been pressured by her people, would be paying him a visit sometime soon to discuss the child's name. From his calculations, he knew that she would not approach him directly, but would instead approach her longtime childhood friend, the child's other parent who had equal naming rights. He also knew that Haruto, who had a major soft spot for her even though he swore fidelity to L-Elf as his lover, would give in to whatever request she made.

The next time Haruto dropped by to hold their son and bring treats for L-Elf, the Dorssian posed the question of naming the child, which floored Haruto on the spot. Haruto, being the big ball of emotions he was, had been very careful to not bring up the topic, being ever wary of L-Elf's reaction if he did. He didn't expect the silver-haired Dorssian to bring the sensitive topic up first. He met L-Elf's gaze and knew that he couldn't avoid the question any further, and nodded understandingly. Haruto kept his hold on the baby steady, even though his courage looked close to crumbling under L-Elf's stare. L-Elf remained expressionless, waiting for Haruto to voice the topic. Haruto cleared his throat. "So…about the name for our son…" L-Elf's eyes narrowed. Haruto gave a cough and tried again. "…I mean for the child…do you have one in mind?"

From Haruto's expression right after he said that, he seemed to be regretting it as he had asked something obviously stupid. L-Elf thought so too, and couldn't resist rubbing it in further. "I had one in mind." He replied flatly.

"Oh." Haruto responded awkwardly. The discussion instantly died there. It was the perfect reflection of their personal lives together though. If it wasn't related to work, or if they weren't joining their bodies, they shared barely anything in common, and didn't know how to work around each other. It was all a matter of arrangements, and compromise on both sides. The strongest link between them was the one now sleeping in Haruto's arms.

One of Haruto's strengths, however, was that he did not succumb to shame or embarrassment easily. He eventually tried restarting the conversation, as he set the baby down on the bed and looked L-Elf in the eye. L-Elf picked up the message immediately. Whatever he was going to say next might anger the Dorssian, and he didn't want to be holding the baby if it did turn out into a fistfight. "L-Elf…just hear me out a bit here…" When L-Elf showed no sign of aggression, he continued on. "I'd like to name our son…Mikhail…"

The glare L-Elf gave him in response to that looked like it could kill him, immortal or otherwise. "You do not have the right to call that name. Only one person was allowed to say it, and she's gone." L-Elf spoke coldly.

Haruto held up his hands, a gesture for surrender in Dorssian body language, and also to pacify someone in JIOR-ian body language. "Just…just hear me out. You wanted to give the name of the person you loved most to this child, and let the child live on her behalf. I too…share that feeling." Haruto turned blue, sincere eyes to L-Elf, causing the latter to shift uncomfortably. "I…still may not know what you have gone through, but even I could tell that you have had a hard life. You had to have your name taken away, and you were given the code L-11, L-Elf to live with. The past cannot be undone, but I'd like the child to walk on and live a happy life in your stead by bearing your former name…"

L-Elf frowned. Haruto probably thought he'd be touched or delighted to have someone live on his behalf. "Again with your sentimental talk. He may carry my former name, but he's not me. He lives his own life, I live mine." He paused for a while. "You're right. The name Mikhail has no association with me." Not since Lieselotte died. "Do whatever you want with it."

An expression of pain filled Haruto's face. L-Elf's response was definitely not the reaction the brunette was hoping to coax out of him. The brunette turned away, and somehow L-Elf felt a slight stab of guilt eat him. The Dorssian knew that he was taking his bitterness out on his lover. Taking in a few deep breaths, L-Elf spoke up again. "I apologise… Haruto. It's fine if…you want to name the child Mikhail."

Haruto brightened almost immediately. He picked the child up again and cradled him. "Mikhail…" He tested the name. The way he said it with his JIOR-ian tongue, pronouncing the name in a manner that sounded like Mee-Hah-Eeruu, made a shiver run down L-Elf's spine. Haruto rocked the baby and smiled. "Mikhail." He called again with more confidence, but caused another shiver again. L-Elf decided that disassociating himself with the name was the right thing to do.

Haruto kissed the child on the forehead, a gesture he seemed to do often, and which L-Elf figured was something related to parental affection. He then turned to L-Elf. "Urm…then about his surname…"

L-Elf pondered the question. Of course, being the parent who was put through more hell during the carrying and delivery of the child, he had better rights to give the child a surname. He immediately vetoed the idea of having the child take Haruto's surname. They weren't registered on paper or bound by any official document. He was not obliged to give the baby his sire's surname.

"Maybe…Karlstein? It's your…" Haruto didn't finish his words when a fist landed heavily on the table.

L-Elf's voice was dead serious when he spoke up. "You shall not bring up that name ever again…or even suggest that the child take it… Do you understand, Tokishima Haruto?" Memories of children fighting children, of the smell of gunpowder and blood, of fear and pain filled his mind. While he was grateful to bear the name Karlstein, a symbol of his strength to have survived and graduated from it, he'd rather have his plans go up in smoke all at once than give his own son such a cursed name.

Haruto frowned, staring at his expression closely in an attempt to read him. He wasn't very successful. L-Elf was long trained to school his expression after all. With a sigh, he continued rocking Mikhail. "We could come up with a surname for him later. He's our light, so it would be good if we chose a suitable name for him."

L-Elf was about to agree, but something Haruto said caught his attention. It was a word long lost to him ever since his own died, and one he had almost forgotten…until now. "Licht."

Haruto blinked. L-Elf turned to the child. "Mikhail Licht. That will be his name." Through his son, all future generations of Neo-Dorssian royalty too would carry "light" in their names. Haruto nodded, then smiled in agreement.

Shortly after little Mikhail finally had a name, the JIOR-ian former students of Sakimori Academy who were with them in Neo-Dorssia joked of being possibly named the child's grandparents. L-Elf mused that it was probably yet another practice he was not aware of, especially noting the discomfort with which Haruto turned them down. He was probably being disrespectful in JIOR-ian culture.

He even snuck up on Haruto and Rukino Saki talking, with the latter having her arms crossed under her ample breasts, as usual. "I am glad that I turned down your proposal after all, what with you being such a disloyal man. Shortly after you proposed to me, you hooked up with L-Elf instead."

Haruto had the decency to look embarrassed at that. "…I'm sorry." He mumbled.

Saki gave a slight huff and tapped him playfully on the arm. "Well then. To make up for it, you'll name me Mikhail's godmother then."

Haruto seemed flustered at that. "I…I'll have to discuss this with L-Elf first."

Saki raised an eyebrow and sounded exasperated. "Haa? You have to get his permission for everything you do? Are you stupid? You sound like a whipped husband!"

Haruto merely laughed in response to that. L-Elf personally didn't think naming some of them as Mikhail's godparents was a big deal, and didn't know what kind of dilemma was going on in that brunette head of Haruto's. Days later, after ordering Haruto to gather the pilots, he announced to them that he was making them an offer to be Mikhail's godparents, an offer they all accepted. Saki seemed a little upset, but she masked it well. She probably wanted Haruto to be the one to make that offer.

As for the non-pilots, he made the same request to Renboukouji Satomi, who was highly useful to him during his plans to bring revolution to Dorssia, and also to A-Drei, his best friend. Satomi kept bowing to him in response, being extremely honoured to be named a godparent of the royal child. A-Drei was so happy that he wouldn't stop shaking L-Elf's hand until at least five minutes later.

To everyone else, it was a great honour to be named godparents of the royal Neo-Dorssian child. Their happiness was contagious, as even L-Elf found himself pleased after evaluating his decision.

Babysitters for Mikhail acquired.

To be continued…

To be continued…

A/N: With that, chapter 4's done. Do tell me what you think of it. (Ehehe~)

I was debating over the German spelling "Michael" or Russian spelling "Mikhail". I've decided to go with the Russian one. The German one looks too…English. XD. Mikhail sounds more foreign to me.

Was Mikhail (the kid) bottle-fed or breastfed? I'll leave that to your imagination as I've included hints which could be taken both ways, so feel free to picture it according to your (coughpreferredkinkcough) own preference. L-Elf's personality does allow for both possibilities – his pride as a man and a soldier may make him reach for the bottle, but his preference for being quick and practical may make him seek out…whatever resources are available at hand. Ahem.

I apologise if this fic sounds extremely biased against JIOR-ians (and an apology to those who do like JIOR). It's just an impression I have towards them after watching both seasons, what with their spam of almost any kind of opinion on WIRED. Think episode 1, when they revealed the Valvrave pilot and shared his pictures (and immediately added him on their friends' list). Plus one moment they're "Tokishima-kun, save us!" and next moment they're "Tokishima has returned! Oh no! Don't let monsters on this ship!" They make all the noise while someone else does the fighting. (Which, come to think of it, is a realistic portrayal of the Internet. XD)

Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.

-Gwyn86