It was incredibly hot that day, even for the desert. Despite being born and raised at Figaro Castle, Sabin found that he'd been away for so long that he'd found he'd needed to adjust to the heat all over again. The sun burned on his back and exposed arms – he'd probably wind up with sunburn if he wasn't careful, but if it came to that, he'd probably be able to buy some paste of some sort when he returned to South Figaro with his niece and nephew in tow.
Thinking on that, he probably should have brought something ready for the travel back. Oh well. Hopefully Edgar and Terra would be able to provide him with something.
It had been a couple of months back that he'd extended an offer to his brother and sister-in-law to take their young children back to his little humble house that he'd had rebuilt just outside of South Figaro. He was in a pretty decent spot; only half a day's Chocobo ride from the castle and approximately an hour or so away from the town. Hopefully, the kids wouldn't get too bored.
The reason for his offer? Terra was, rather unintentionally, expecting again. Sabin knew his brother in particular wasn't entirely keen on having another child following the difficult birth of their daughter Madeline; Terra had been unconscious for nearly two days following the birth and the girl had to have particular treatment for jaundice. Granted, it may not have sounded severe to some, but Sabin and Edgar both knew that childbirth carried many risks, including death. It had been the reason they'd grown up without their mother.
He hadn't been around when that had happened; he'd been north in Narshe training some of the kids, following his desire to continue spreading Duncan's teachings. The first he'd heard of it was when Madeline was two months old and had fully recovered alongside her mother. His brother had initially brushed off his concerns, but Sabin knew Edgar too well. The guilt of abandoning Edgar to rule the kingdom all those years ago still stuck in his gut to this day and that feeling had only worsened when he'd learned the truth of what had occurred with Madeline and Terra. So upon learning Terra was expecting a third child, he'd decided to ensure he would be there.
"I'll come up to the castle and stick around," Sabin had told his brother a couple of months earlier, "That way I'll be around if you need me."
"That won't be necessary," Edgar had smiled in return, "I can't ask you to stop everything you're doing for this."
"I want to," Sabin had replied fiercely, "Even if it turns out fine this time, I… I don't want you to feel like you haven't got any support."
His brother had laughed – it seemed a tad wistful and Sabin could hear the anxiety in his voice – still, he clapped his shoulder, "I shall be fine, brother. You don't need to worry about me."
Silence had fallen between the two, before the king had glanced up at his brother, the corners of his lips curved upwards, "Though if you want to help in any way, perhaps the children might appreciate some time away from the castle in the company of their Uncle Sabin."
"You want me to take the kids?"
"If you want to then perhaps, when the time comes. I'm sure they'd enjoy it and it would mean more focus would be on Terra."
Sabin smiled in return, "Consider it done then."
It had been settled, Terra had agreed to the plan and Leo had practically bounced from room to room since being told. Madeline was the only unknown factor, given she could be a tad… clingy. Still, he was sure he could win her over – it would be good for her to be away from her parents for a bit.
He'd arrived at the castle by midday. He dismounted his chocobo, leading the grand beast off to the side of the castle where the stables were; chocobos were very well built to handle heat and sunlight, but that didn't mean he couldn't get the thing into some shade as soon as he could. Upon ensuring the large bird was settled with the stable staff and enjoying a nice, long drink, Sabin traveled around to the entrance once more and took in the sight of his childhood home. It hadn't changed that much, in all honesty. It was still as regal and strong as always and still filled him with the familiar warmth that came with being home.
He found the family in the dining room. Madeline was sat on his brother's lap, babbling away incoherently. Terra was fussing over Leo, pausing every now and then to take a long, deep breath with a grimace, one hand clutching her large belly. She was definitely in early labor, that much was certain.
At that moment, Leo looked away from his mother and met his eyes. The eight-year old's face lit up in an excited beam as he tore past Terra and threw himself at his uncle with a loud cry of joy, "UNCLE SABIN!"
"Hey, squirt," Sabin fondly ruffled the boy's shoulder-length blonde hair, "How are you doing?"
"Good," the boy replied enthusiastically, "So are we going soon? Do you have a separate bed? I really don't want to share with Maddie! Oh, and could we go to South Figaro to see Cid and Ralph?"
"Whoa, Leo, calm down, give your uncle a chance to breath," Edgar laughed, gently coaxing a reluctant Madeline off of his lap so he could get up and envelop his brother in a hug, "It's good to see you, brother. Was it a safe journey?"
"Pretty boring, honestly," Sabin ran a hand over his short ponytail, "I wouldn't have minded a few Sand Rays to make the journey a little more interesting."
"Sand Rays?" a small voice squeaked from the corner. Madeline's small six-year old fingers were clutching the table cloth. Sabin laughed, "Don't worry, little princess. Sand Rays are really nothing to worry about. Especially not when you're with me."
The small girl chewed her lip, clearly uncertain. Leo grinned wildly, "I hope we find some. I want to see you beat 'em up!"
Sabin smiled, "Perhaps one day I'll teach you how to."
It had taken some time to convince little Madeline that there would be no threat of danger on the road back to South Figaro. The little girl's bottom lip had quivered as her parents each kissed her forehead and bade her farewell. Leo had skipped ahead to the stables gleefully while Edgar shouted after the boy that he was to behave himself. Sabin knew that Leo could be a handful, but he refused to believe that it could be as bad as his brother was making it out to be.
Ensuring the children were safely mounted on their chocobos, Sabin pulled himself up behind Madeline and grabbed the reins. Terra had been insistent that the girl was far too young to ride alone, something the child hadn't argued about, given that she was nervous about being away from her parents for a whole night, possibly two. Leo, on the other hand, had argued fiercely that he could ride alone and, after promising his mother that he would stay close to Sabin and not charge off like he'd try to do in riding lessons, she'd reluctantly agreed.
Sabin cast a glance across at the boy; he looked every bit the prince, even though he was dressed down in a basic white shirt and blue trousers. His golden hair had been tied back at his mother's insistence, his sapphire eyes wide and drinking in every detail of the desert. No doubt looking for Sand Rays.
He felt Madeline shift in front of him, so his attentions shifted down to her. Her pale green curls were also tied back, though they looked as if they had been done hastily. The girl's own blue eyes were looking down at her small hands, which were gripping onto the chocobo as tightly as she could manage. The ends of her emerald dress whipped in the wind as they rode.
He almost didn't hear her speak among the sounds of the wind beating against him, "Will mummy and the baby be alright?"
He honestly didn't have a certain answer to that; he didn't want to lie to the girl. She'd almost certainly given them a scare when she was born, as had her mother. In fact, thinking on it, the whole of Terra's pregnancy with Madeline had been difficult, or so Edgar had told him. He didn't know the exact details, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. What he did know was that Terra's pregnancy had supposedly been very smooth this time around, and that midwives hadn't expressed many concerns. Sabin smiled down at the girl, "I'm sure they'll be just fine."
He took them to South Figaro first. He'd needed extra supplies, especially with two extra mouths to feed that night, and he'd promised Leo that they'd go and see Cid after the boy would not stop talking about it. He'd concede that Edgar was right on one front; Leo loved to talk. He always had done. Sabin recalled one time when he'd affectionately referred to the boy as 'a chatterbox', only for Terra to chide him by insisting that saying such things in front of him may affect his confidence.
Yeah… nothing to worry about on that front. The kid's got more confidence than most adults!
After buying what he needed, the three headed towards the lower end of town where Locke and Celes lived with their two sons. The house was small, with a thatched roof and picket fence. He'd never have imagined either Locke or Celes as the 'white picket fence' types, yet there they were. Celes had seemed pleased to see him when she'd answered the door alone.
"Locke's off thieving again," she told him quietly away from the children, her lips curved upwards in humour.
"Don't you mean treasure-hunting?" he replied, his tone amused as he took a sip of green tea. Celes chuckled.
"That's what I tell them," she whispered, jerking her thumb back in the direction of the room the children were all playing in, "But we both know the truth."
He laughed at that before pausing to observe the woman in front of him. After the world had ended, he'd traveled from town to town, half-starved and often bloodied and bruised, searching for his friends and his brother. She had been the first one he had found – though to be more accurate, she had found him. He'd been making inquiries with some of the people of Tzen when Kefka's Light of Judgement had struck, landing close enough to one of the houses that the ground's foundations had started to give way. A lady had screamed that her child was inside, and he'd thrown himself beneath a collapsing wall without even thinking. That was when, as if by a miracle or answered prayer, Celes had appeared and set about to the task of saving the child.
They'd traveled alone together for weeks afterwards, and as a result, he'd gotten to know her quite well. More so than some of the other crew members. He'd even go as far as to say he'd grown quite fond of her during that time and – though he'd never admit it to her – if he'd had to marry like his brother did, she'd probably be the least objectionable option of any woman he'd ever met. She wasn't just beautiful, with golden hair and sapphire eyes, she was one hell of a tough cookie that was more than capable of taking care of herself.
It didn't matter though. She only ever had eyes for Locke and he was perfectly fine about that. That and he didn't really have to worry about anything like marrying, especially not with Leo, Madeline and hopefully this new baby being ahead of him in the line of succession. That life wasn't for him anyhow.
"Is Terra well?" she asked, following a sip of her own green tea and a brief glance down to the side of the table to where her youngest son Ralph was playing.
He shrugged, "About as well as she can be, I guess. She hasn't been having any problems from what I've heard."
"Hmm," she replied, fingers idly tapping on the side of her cup. Of course, she'd worry about Terra; she was the closest thing to a sister she'd ever known, "I hope things go well."
"Me too," he nodded, glancing towards the doorway leading into the room the children were playing in, "For Edgar's sake as much as Terra's. And the kids."
Celes smiled slyly, "You're brave, you know. Taking them on on your own. Especially Leo. I can speak from experience when I say that he can be quite a handful."
Sabin laughed, "He's a good kid!"
"For certain, but he gets carried away very easily," she replied, "And I can't help but believe that there may be a reason for that."
"Like what?" he asked, eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"Jealousy. He's always been incredibly jealous of Madeline and the attention she gets. I imagine this new one won't be any different."
"Edgar's never said anything about that," Sabin shrugged with a frown.
"He wouldn't, because he doesn't see it," Celes told him, gently allowing a hand to fall to her side to ruffle her two-year old son's light brown hair, "Can you honestly tell me you've never felt jealous of Edgar growing up?"
Sabin sat back, his hand gently stroking the short beard he'd grown. Of course, he'd been jealous of Edgar. It was a silly question, really. He'd always been such a sickly child growing up, having inherited a condition from his grandfather. As a result, Edgar had always been the stronger of the two as well as smarter; the apple of their father's eye. Of course, he knew now that his father had loved and appreciated his own qualities just as much, but at the time, he'd felt so inadequate; a failure, compared to his twin. Perhaps that been part of the reason why he'd left Figaro to be ruled by Edgar, even if it had turned out to be the right decision for everyone.
He was interrupted from his thoughts by a loud scream, followed by Madeline charging into the room, red-faced with tears streaming down her cheeks. She was so hysterical, that he couldn't quite make sense of what she was saying.
Luckily, Celes seemed to know what to do, turning to the girl and speaking firmly, "Calm down. Breathe, Madeline. Now, tell me what's wrong."
The girl seemed startled at first – perhaps because Terra always spoke so warmly and with more patience – but eventually her sobs became a little more controlled, her bottom lip quivering a little less, "Leo p-pushed me," she whispered, "H-he said I couldn't p-play with Cid's t-trains because I'm a g-g-girl…"
"Right," Celes' own lips thinned before turning back to Sabin, "Are you going to deal with this?"
He nodded dumbly. Of course, they're my responsibility for the time being. He got to his feet, making his way over to the other room. He could hear Celes begin to speak to Madeline again, her voice a little less harsh, "Listen to me, Maddie. Girls can play with trains if they want to. They can wear anything they want to, be anything they want to. Don't ever let your brother tell you otherwise."
He smiled at Celes' words and, turning his attention back to the task at hand, Sabin pushed the door open. He could see Celes' eldest son Cid, quietly sat in the corner with a book in his hands, blue eyes studying the words within while wiping stray brown strands of hair from his forehead. Scouring his eyes over the room, he spotted Leo sprawled on the floor on his stomach, hands occupying themselves with two navy green trains while vocalizing an action-packed plot synopsis.
He cleared his throat, "Leo."
The boy turned. He was biting his lip, a trait he and his sister seemed to have gotten from their mother. Sabin paused, trying not to give off the impression that he felt like he had no idea what he was doing, "Did you push your sister?"
The boy didn't reply. Cid, still in the corner, buried his head deeper into his book, his cheeks flushed. Sabin found he didn't need to ask the other boy what had happened; the silence from Leo told him all he needed to know, "Right. Get up. We're going."
"What?" the boy cried, "B-but I was having fun!"
"Did you push your sister?" he asked again firmly. He was starting to get into the right mindset; it really wasn't much different to how he'd approach one of the children he'd train. He briefly wondered how Edgar and Terra would handle such behavior, but then pushed that thought out of his head.
"She wouldn't leave me alone!" the boy shouted back defiantly, before turning to the other boy in the room with him, "Tell him, Cid!"
Cid's cheeks reddened, "S-she wasn't causing any harm…"
"Cid!"
"We're going," Sabin repeated, muscular arms folded across his chest.
"But-"
"Now."
The boy shrieked in frustration, slamming the trains in his hand down to the floor as hard as he possibly could. Cid's eyes looked at the floor as his toys were brutally attacked by the angry little prince. Stomping out of the room, Leo stuck his tongue out at the other child, "Traitor!"
It wasn't a fun evening. Leo had stormed off upstairs into the room he was to share with Madeline immediately upon returning and slammed the door shut. Sabin sighed, running a hand over his ponytail. Madeline was sat on one of his armchairs, hugging her legs close to her chest.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"Don't be," he replied softly, approaching her and leaning down, taking her small, trembling body into his arms, "It's not your fault."
The girl's bottom lip quivered again, "I miss Mummy and Daddy. I want to go home."
"It's a bit late to be travelling now, princess," he began; of the two children, Madeline was always the one he couldn't quite get a handle on; perhaps it showed, hence her nervousness, "Why don't we get some supper and get ready to head to bed?"
"Leo won't want me in there."
"Leo's not the boss of this house."
"I'm scared," she whimpered, blue eyes moistening again, "C-can I sleep in your bed instead?"
Sabin sighed again; he was a big man, he took up a lot of room. Still, perhaps there'd be enough room for a small six year old to squeeze in. He wondered briefly if she slept with her parents sometimes. He could imagine Edgar not being entirely pleased with that arrangement. He grinned at the thought. Turning his attentions back to her, he scooped her up into his strong arms, "Of course you can, princess."
It had been about an hour since Madeline fell asleep when the letter arrived. His lips curved upwards; it hadn't taken long at all. Terra had been safely delivered of a son; she was doing well as was the babe. He had sighed with relief; it was a huge weight from his mind. Given that it was late, however, he knew it'd be best to wait until tomorrow before setting off back to Figaro Castle. Madeline would no doubt be thrilled; she had told him over dinner that while she'd prefer a sister, she wouldn't mind if she were to have another brother so long as they 'weren't mean like Leo'.
Speaking of Leo, the room he'd holed himself up in had been silent for quite some time. He wondered if the boy had fallen asleep and decided to check.
Poking his head around the door, he noticed Leo was still awake, his back to the door, facing the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest and his legs crossed. Sabin briefly recalled the conversation he'd had with Celes; perhaps he ought to see if the boy was up for a chat. He knocked.
Leo turned, his sapphire eyes regarding him coolly. Sabin cleared his throat, "May I come in?"
Leo turned back to the wall, "Your house," he replied coldly, "I'm not the boss of it."
Sabin paused for a second; had he perhaps heard what he'd said to his sister? Pushing the thought aside, he entered the room, closing the door behind him and sitting on Leo's bed beside him, "Why are you staring at the wall?"
"Matron makes me do it when I'm bad," he replied shortly. It was clear the boy had little interest in talking. Celes' words still rang through his mind. He wouldn't give up, at least not yet.
He chuckled, "Oh yes. I remember that. She used to do the same to your dad and me. She also used to threaten to bang our heads together when we fought. She stood for no nonsense."
Leo didn't answer.
"You know you don't have to look at the wall here, though, don't you? I'd say you've been disciplined enough. And I'm not Matron."
Still no answer. Time to try a different tactic.
"I got a letter," Sabin began again, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder and feeling relieved when he didn't immediately flinch away, "Your mother's had the baby. You have a little brother. They're both doing well, so the plan is to return you and your sister home tomorrow as soon as we've eaten breakfast."
"I don't want a little brother!" the young prince suddenly snapped, turning to Sabin with a dark glare on his face, "I don't want any of it! I hate him and I hate Maddie!"
"Jealousy. He's always been incredibly jealous of Madeline and the attention she gets. I imagine this new one won't be any different."
"You don't mean that," Sabin told him, hand still resting on the boy's shoulder firmly.
"I do!" Leo spat, "Dad always tells me off, he never tells Maddie off! Maddie always gets whatever she wants from him and he doesn't want to play with me at all! Now he's going to want to play with this stupid baby and not me!"
Sabin fell silent. Was it really that bad? That wasn't like Edgar at all. He shook his head; he never expected such a difficult conversation, "You know your dad loves you-"
"He loves Maddie more," Leo cut him off. Sabin found that on closer examination, his nephew's eyes were wet. Had he been crying? How long for? How had he not heard him before now?
He thought back to when he was younger, to those feelings of inadequacy that used to boil inside of him. Did he ever hate Edgar when he was younger? No, thinking on it, he never did. If anything, he hated himself more but found himself unable to realize that fact properly until he was older. True, there were times he perhaps resented Edgar, and there were times when they even fought. But at his core, he always knew he loved his brother and would do anything for him. Sabin had no doubt that Leo felt the same for his sister and would grow to feel the same for his new brother. The problem didn't lay with them. Granted, being King was busy work. He knew from his experience growing up watching his own father. Even he'd resented it sometimes. But even so…
Sabin chuckled, leaning in towards the young prince, "He cried the day you were born, you know. Your mother told me. She said he was so happy he cried."
The lad remained silent so Sabin took said silence as his opportunity to continue, "You know, when I was young, your dad and I would fight sometimes. I used to think my dad loved him more. Your dad was always so smart and strong and everything I thought a prince should be."
"He's not as strong as you," Leo interrupted, arms loosening from his sides, his guard seeming to come down a little.
"Back when we were kids, I was a bit of a weakling. I got sick a lot. So your dad was definitely stronger than me back then. But that's not the point – the point is, I was wrong. My dad never loved either of us more than the other. It's the same with your dad. He might be busy a lot and the younger ones might demand more attention, but I know he thinks the world of you," his grin widened, "I remember when he told me you were born, he had this big stupid smile on his face. He couldn't have been prouder."
Upon hearing that, Leo let out a small laugh. Sensing the breakthrough, Sabin edged closer and put a thick, muscular arm around his nephew's shoulders, "I can talk to him if you want. Maybe see about getting something arranged for just the two of you. Would you like that?"
The lad bit his lip, looking unsure, "Maybe. He won't be mad, will he?"
"Of course he won't," patting the boy's shoulder, Sabin began to get to his feet, "Anyway, you'd best try and get some sleep. We'll be leaving pretty early tomorrow to get you home."
The boy nodded quietly, stifling a yawn before turning to him once more, "Uncle Sabin?"
"Yeah, kiddo?"
Leo smiled, "Thank you."
The very second Madeline had seen her father, she'd let out a loud squeal, flinging her arms around his legs until he'd finally bent down to her level to embrace her properly. The little princess bounced up and down on her feet, the same question exiting her lips every few seconds - 'where's mummy and the baby?'
"Hold on, Maddie," Edgar laughed, "Let me say hello to your brother first," he turned to Leo, still smiling, "Did you have fun?"
The prince lowered his head and nodded, "Yeah, it was good."
Edgar raised an eyebrow, no doubt surprised that his son wasn't excitedly nattering away about his time away from the castle. Sabin made a mental note to try and pull him aside later for a chat. Regardless, the king clapped his hands together, "Right, shall we go and see the little one?"
"Yes!" Madeline squealed, clasping his hand tightly, "I can't wait to see him! Is he cute? Do you think he'll like me?"
Sabin hadn't been surprised when Madeline attempted to throw herself at Terra like she had with Edgar, but upon seeing the tiny bundle in her mother's arms, the girl seemed to back off a little bit, her eyes still wide with excitement, "Can I see him?"
"Of course you can, sweetling," the green-haired woman replied, gently leaning forward and shifting her position to enable the girl a better look. Madeline's mouth dropped open, "Oh he's so cute! Does he have a name?"
Terra smiled, "We've decided to name him Gerad."
It was Sabin's turn for his jaw to drop as he turned to his brother, who at least had the good grace to look at least a little bit embarrassed, "Really? You named him after that little ploy? I thought you would be more original than that!"
"Hey, I'd like to see you come up with something better!"
Terra simply smiled, "I like it. It's unique," she turned to Edgar, "Aren't you going to tell Sabin what his full name is?"
Edgar nodded, before turning his attentions back to his brother, "His full name is Gerad Sabin Figaro."
"Oh, you didn't," He hadn't expected that, and it showed. Had he been much younger and much less in control of his emotions, he might have sobbed a little bit. Just a little bit. But now… Goddammit, he wasn't going to get emotional here. Not now. "Why?"
Edgar shrugged, "I think the better question is, why not?"
"Leo," Terra spoke up again; as soft as her voice was, it had a way of ensuring it was heard, "Don't you want to come and say hello to your brother?"
Sabin turned to Leo, remembering their conversation the previous night. The boy looked a bit uncomfortable, but – with a flush of relief filling his chest – Leo nodded and quietly approached his mother. After a few seconds of observing his new brother, the young prince wrinkled his nose, "Are babies supposed to be that wrinkly?"
Sabin couldn't help it – he let out a loud boom of laughter.
When the kids were getting settled back in, Sabin took Edgar to one side and told him everything that had occurred, including Leo's outburst and confession. Upon finishing, the king glanced away at the wall, his face expressionless, "I had wondered why he'd seemed so distant upon his return."
"So yeah," Sabin finished, "Kid's feeling pretty inadequate. So I told him I'd talk to you."
"I'm glad you told me," he replied, "I… I certainly like to think I treat them equally. But perhaps, thinking on it, Madeline does tend to take more of my attention, especially recently. It certainly explains his recent behavior changes. I definitely don't want to make him feel less important," he paused, pacing slightly, his hand on his chin deep in thought, "The question is what to do to fix this."
Sabin shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe some one-on-one time with him. Something you'd both enjoy."
"I'm no martial arts expert," he chuckled, "But perhaps… yes, that might work. I think he's probably ready to go in there with supervision."
"What?"
Edgar didn't answer him, but he had an excited grin on his face as he tore off towards Leo's room. Sabin couldn't help but to shrug again. Yup, I'm never having kids.
A/N:
I've always had this idea in my head. Maybe I'll expand on it a little later, I don't know. Also, I love Sabin. Not as much as I love Edgar but I do love him.
