A/N: Long chapter is looooong (17 pages WTF?). And it's all one scene, technically. It's a long day for Artie. Also: you get to see a little bit of both religion and medical science here. Aren't you all lucky?


The stars were beautiful. They were bright in the sky, so much more vivid than the last time Arthur had bothered to look at them. He had never really paid attention to how numerous they were either, most of his life just settling on "a lot." But he hadn't thought past that, wondered how many days it would take him to be able to count that high if they made numbers that large. It had been a long time since he'd actually gone out to look at the stars. With how cold it was getting at night, he preferred to lie between Alfred and the hearth whenever possible so that he had heat coming from both sides.

The baby inside of him wriggled a little bit, but it wasn't a proper kick. Arthur placed his hand on his belly and rubbed a little circle, more out of habit than anything else. The child stilled, but most likely he'd just finished getting into a new position. For a moment Arthur wondered if that movement was a shiver, if it meant that his baby was cold. Then realized that for the baby to be cold, he'd have to be cold first. Arthur scowled to himself. He hated it when Alfred was right, and he was vindicating the boy more and more often when it came to his common accusation of calling Arthur a worrywart.

"You alright there?" said boy asked.

"Yeah," Arthur replied, squeezing his hand, "The stars are just nice."

"Mmm," He stopped walking for a second to stare skyward, but as soon as he tilted his head up for a split second he went back to running, "Okay, yep, now let's get a move on. I wanna get to the festival! Come on, the winter solstice only comes once a year!"

Arthur snorted and teasingly said, "You're just looking forward to being able to gorge yourself on all sorts of food without having to wait for me to keep up."

"No, don't be silly. I'm looking forward to being able to play games all night without having to fight you every step of the way for once."

"Alfred," Arthur said in a very serious tone, "Give me your purse."

"No."

"Alfred."

"Nope." He smiled devilishly.

"I would like to eat sometime before spring, Alfred."

"Blah, blah, blah, your needs." He pulled the bag from his belt and swirled it around his finger.

Arthur waited for just the right moment and then snatched it away.

"Hey! Give that back!"

"I don't think so." He grinned, stretching his arm behind his back.

"Thief! Thief! I've been robbed!" Alfred shouted, trying to reach for the pouch, but not being able to get even close, thanks to Arthur's belly.

Arthur just laughed at his husband's desperate attempts, "Sorry, Alfred. The baby and I took a vote and we decided that it's a good idea to keep you from spending our firewood and food money."

"How would you know what he decided?"

"Well, he seems to be helping my cause at the moment."

"Come on, Artie! Ooh! I got an idea." He smirked, "I'll bottom tonight. I'll spread my legs as wide as you want and let you do whatever perverted things you can come up with. Wouldn't that be fun?"

Arthur floundered for a moment. Was that even possible at this point? He was torn between "My back would ache horribly for days," "Dear God, Alfred, we're in public!"and "Oh yes, I would like that very much."

It had been a long, long time since he'd been inside Alfred. They'd barely been doing anything since Arthur's belly started getting cumbersome and they only had found three positions that worked with it. Arthur hadn't even really thought about topping for a long, long time, except for the occasional dirty dream where he was back to normal. In real life he was enjoying the extra safety he felt whenever he was beneath his husband too much for being dominant to even cross his mind.

Alfred took advantage of Arthur's distraction to get around him and grab his purse back.

"Bastard," Arthur muttered.

Alfred laughed triumphantly and clipped it back to his belt beneath his cloak where Arthur couldn't get to it.

They continued bickering good-naturedly until they reached the village square. It was as bright as day with all the fires burning. The sound of music and laughter filled the air. There were so many vivid colors on the booths that had materialized since earlier in the day when there had been a far more serious religious service on the same cobblestones. The scent of food and fire was so thick that it was almost visible. Alfred let go of Arthur to step further into the light and inhale deeply.

"Oh God I love festivals," he said, he turned back to Arthur and held his hand out.

Arthur decided to humor him and came over to take his hand back. Alfred smiled and pulled him into a hug.

"I hope you have even half as much fun at your preggo thing as I do tonight."

"I've heard that it's a rather pleasant experience, so I should be perfectly fine."

"Still, let me walk you over."

"What am I? A child?"

"Nah, you should know better. I just wanna do it once. This is our first, remember?"

"Of course I know that," he snapped, a bit more harshly than he would have usually.

Alfred smiled, "Aw, you starting to get nervous, Artie?"

"Maybe a little." Arthur admitted, "But I have a right to be! This is only my first and I'm already twenty-three. Some of the boys there are sixteen. Not to mention that I'll probably be the biggest one there since everyone who could be further along would have gone to the summer one. And-"

Alfred gave him a little kiss on the cheek, "That's okay. No matter how much I tease you, you're not an old man. And that just means that you had more fun experiences to talk about from before you had kids. And Mattie's gonna be there, and you saw him earlier today so you know he looks like he's about to pop."

"That's true, I suppose."

"Besides, it's not about who's how old and who's how big, it's a way for you to spend time with people who're going through what you're going through."

Arthur snorted. "How would you know that?"

"You're not the only one who talks to Kiku," Alfred said, laughing.

"I suppose so," Arthur said, "And thanks… I guess."

He allowed Alfred to lead him over to the church doors, which were closed to keep the heat in and give the men inside a bit of privacy.

"Well, I can't take you any further," Alfred said smiling, "But I'll see you soon, okay? I promise that I'll try to keep my spending down to ten coppers, a silver max."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Oh, alright. But only because I won't be spending anything."

"Awesome." He leaned in, for what Arthur assumed to be a kiss on the cheek, but instead was him whispering, "And I meant it about topping. If you don't have it in you to do it tonight, let's try for tomorrow." He gave his cold ear a lick, making him shiver.

And then he was gone, Arthur opened the door and found that there were eight others waiting in the vestibule talking. Three of them were obviously pregnant, although none of them looked like they were as far along as he was, but the other five looked completely normal. Of course, it was hard to tell under the cloaks. Hell, most of them looked so young. Only two of them looked like they could be a day over twenty-five, and Arthur would be shocked if any of the four huddled in the corner were even Alfred's age. He felt terribly out of place, and that was only made worse by the fact that he didn't know a single one of them and he was rubbish at making friends.

Thankfully, just as it was starting to sink in that he would probably be awkward and alone all night, the door opened again and Matthew peeked in. Arthur pulled him inside, just so he didn't look so lonely and pathetic.

"Hello there, Matthew," Arthur said, honestly relieved, "It's nice to see you. How have you been?"

"I'm good," he looked down and grimaced, "Well, all things considered."

My, it was hard to hear him over the others' words reflecting off the stone and time. He'd always been so damn quiet, "Aches?" Arthur guessed.

"Oh, you have no idea. And I still have four more months of this. Gil has some family issues going on in Alke. He asked me if I wanted to come, but I don't even know if I can ride a horse at this point. I'm staying with mom and dad."

"Come to think of it, I do remember Alfred saying something like that."

He laughed, "Mom's so worried that he doesn't make me do anything."

"That must be nice."

"Yeah, he lets me lie in bed all day and not do anything. I've been reading a whole lot and I made plenty of blankets for the twins." He rubbed his stomach protectively, "So how've you been?"

"I'm surprised Alfred didn't talk your ear off about it when he went to visit last week."

"Well, he did. He and mom were in a room together. Whenever that happens there's no such thing as silence. But he doesn't necessarily know how you've been, just how he thinks you've been."

"I've been alright." Arthur said, shrugging, "My feet are starting to swell, I have to piss all the time, and he," he placed his hand on his stomach to let Matthew know who he was talking about, "likes to wake me up in the middle of the night by trying to kick his way right out of me," Matthew laughed sympathetically at that, "but I've been holding up."

"Alfred's not being a complete ass, is he?"

"No, just a complete moron."

"Well if he wasn't he wouldn't be Alfred."

Arthur allowed himself to smile at that.

Slowly, the inner doors began to open, inviting them all into the nave.

"Are you ready?" Matthew asked.

"Well if I wasn't there wouldn't be much I could do," Arthur replied.

"Right, right. Well, then, let's go." Matthew grabbed his hand and pulled him through the large wooden doors.

All of the pews had been moved. Arthur could see them stacked neatly along the walls. In their place was a big table, filled with more food than the ten of them could possibly eat.

Like hell Arthur wasn't going to try, though.

…Fucking Alfred, passing his appetite on to his child.

Ooh… fucking Alfred…

Arthur's mind was barraged with memories of Alfred, spread-eagled on the bed and waiting for him and only him, flushed with arousal and so desperate.

He then remembered that whether the pews were in place or not he was still in a church. He banished the thought, blushed, and silently begged God for forgiveness.

Nathan walked out between them and the table, moving much too briskly for a man of sixty-some years. He quickly counted them and smiled, making the lines around his eyes even deeper.

"Oh lovely, everyone's here on time. It's great when that happens because that means you all get more time to relax. Anyway, for those of you who may not know me, my name is Nathan. I've been the head healer in this town for almost twenty years now, I'm married to the high priest, I've had five beautiful children with him, and I believe that's my standard introduction. Is that right?" He looked to the side, where Arthur saw several young men carrying kettles were standing. The men nodded, "Oh good. My memory's not going yet after all. Now, as only utterly evil people who go into healing we've assigned you all seats. This group is a bit larger than usual and we want you to talk to each other."

He went around the table and directed everyone to where they were supposed to go. Arthur ended up on one of the end seats next to a boy named Jack. He didn't really want to call him a man. He was small and thin except for his bulging stomach (he was one of the few that actually looked pregnant) and his cheeks were still smooth, not scraped smooth like a man's were supposed to be. He was the second son of a butcher who'd gotten married just the past spring to the carpenter's son, which Arthur vaguely remembered hearing about once he thought about it. It was all very nice and normal, the kind of life Arthur had dreamed of as a boy and could scarcely fathom now.

"But what about you?" Jack asked, "You said that this was your first too, so you've got to have a cool story about how you met your husband!"

"Well, I suppose you could look at it that way," Arthur said, sighing and setting down his teacup (the tea was delicious, but it was making him feel a bit odd. They'd been told to drink a lot of it, though, and he trusted Nathan). "Well, I've actually known my husband since I was fifteen. His parents are soldiers, so when the war started they needed someone to watch their boys, and, well, that was me. Eventually his brother, who is actually right over there," he pointed to Matthew, who was listening with interest to a larger man who may have been Arthur's age, "Went off to war too, leaving us alone. After that-"

"Wait, why didn't your husband go too?"

"Oh, right," Arthur coughed, "Well, he would have been a liability. Alfred's - that's his name, Alfred – his powers are stunted."

"Oh my gosh, you're that guy!"

"What guy?"

"The one who married the blind boy!"

Arthur glared at him, "He's not blind, and he's older than you."

Jack blushed, "I'm sorry, but that's how we all knew him around town. He'd always be led around by somebody or else he'd walk into things. I actually remember him coming into my dad's shop a few times. When I was a kid if I was around when he came in I'd talk to him. I remember that he was really nice and outgoing, especially considering…"

Arthur smiled and couldn't help but brush his fingers against his belly lightly, "Yes, that's him."

"Wow, Arthur you have to tell me the rest of the story!"

Arthur talked about their lives, how they'd fallen in love and had to hide it before deciding to get married, how they lived, what they did for money, all the way up through Alfred making his glasses and their decision to start a family. Jack held onto his every word. Arthur didn't think that anyone had ever listened to him like that before. He almost felt bad when he had to stop to eat or drink, but eventually he got through. They talked back and forth for a while, talking about their daily lives and sharing stories. Arthur was starting to grow fond of the boy by the time that everyone had finished and Nathan told everyone to have another cup of tea and follow him.

Arthur was really starting to feel strange now. He felt hot and noticed every little thing that touched him from the way his hair and clothes shifted when he moved, to the shape of the chair, to the smallest breath of air that passed his face. Still, he got up and went with everyone else down beneath the church.

He was surprised to see that the smooth man-made walls of the crypt below slowly turned into a natural cave. Candles lit the way and he smelled sulfur. Where were they taking them? He placed his arms around his belly. As they went further the air grew more humid and it was starting to get even warmer than before. Then, all of a sudden he saw the light reflecting in a pool of water.

"Welcome to the hot spring," Nathan said, "Every church is built on one, and this is ours. It's said that all life crawled onto land from places like these, where God has taken water and warmed it with neither sun nor fire. That's why our blood flows hot and our children are suspended in liquid before birth. I'm not a priest, I'm a healer. I can't tell you how much of that's true because I don't know for sure, but I do know that whenever I was allowed to go in, especially when I was with child, I always felt better going out than I had coming in.

"Now, we're going to try to make this go as quickly as possible." He pointed to a shelf with ten baskets on top, "I need each of you to take one of those baskets. In it there should be a black robe. Now, this is important: take the robe off, put your clothes in there, and then put the robe back on top. While you're in there one of my assistants is going to call you out one at a time. When that happens, put the robe on and come into that room over there," he pointed to a door next to the shelf, "That's when I'll examine you and tell you what exactly you're carrying. Any questions?"

Arthur looked around. No one raised their hand or spoke up.

"Good," Nathan said, smiling, "Now go in there and relax. Remember, this is all for your sakes." And with that he left and shut himself in the room.

Arthur felt awkward as he changed. At least he'd gone back to being next to Matthew, so he didn't feel too big compared to everyone else. He felt better once he was actually in the spring with the water distorting the image of his swollen stomach. He pressed his cheek against a rock and allowed himself to relax. He felt like he could just sit there forever, loving the warmth and the way that the water made him feel lighter. Matthew seemed to have the same idea, leaning back with his eyes closed.

God, he looked so much like Alfred. For a moment Arthur wanted him there. He wanted to share his comfort and peace with his husband. But, he thought as he rubbed his stomach, it was nice to be away from him too. It was a reminder that even though they'd been joined at the hip for months they were still different people, capable of functioning alone. The baby kicked a little bit, meaning that they'd probably been in the church for three hours (he was like a clock: whenever he stopped moving for more than ten minutes it would be exactly three hours until he started again. Arthur hoped that the baby would somehow learn to sleep longer before he was born. He'd learned to sleep through kicking, but he didn't think that he could do the same for screaming.) He rubbed soothing circles on his skin and simply stopped thinking. It was so easy then to just sit there and stare at the opposite wall. People were called into the room and came back and he didn't pay any attention.

That is, until one came back crying.

It was one of the boys who was barely showing. Jack (who'd shouted out to all of them upon his return that he was having one healthy boy) came over to him and touched his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

The boy wrapped his arms around Jack's scrawny frame, "It's a girl. I'm having a girl. How am I going to tell Paul?"

Jack gasped and held him tight, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"What am I going to do, Jack? What can I do?"

"You can give her up," Matt said, suddenly awake and strangely forceful.

"That's easy for you to say!" The boy accused.

"Yeah, because I know that she'll be fine with the women, and I know what'll happen if you don't send her."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really!"

"Matt!" the assistant called.

"Oh, that's me," He pulled himself into a standing position and got out of the spring. He smiled at Arthur, "Wish me luck, okay?"

Arthur smiled back, "Of course."

"Who does he think he is?" The boy from before said, "He can't tell me what to do. I know! I can hide her, tell everyone she died and-"

"Don't. You. Dare." Arthur said, glaring at him.

"Now you've got it out for me too? Come on, won't it be better if she's with her real parents?"

"It'll be better if she has her magic," Arthur said, "You have no idea, do you? No idea at all. My husband's so-called real parents held onto him for two weeks. The only reason that he has any kind of life worth living is because he's brilliant and he's worked to perfect the few abilities he still has and because he's had people supporting him his entire life. Two weeks. And if you're still thinking about it, I'll tell him what you're planning. Even without his powers he could break you in half."

"Okay, okay, jeez." He looked away.

Arthur just hoped that he had at least convinced his friends so that they'd try to stop him. He didn't know if the prick would listen himself.

But then again… he didn't actually know how it felt to have to give up a child. He hoped he wouldn't have to, but for the first time he really thought about it. Alfred's parents were both women, was it possible for gender to just skip a generation? Now he was scared. He knew he would have to give it up, but he really, really didn't want to.

"Twins!" Matthew said, sliding back into the water, "Twin boys, just like I thought. Gil's going to be so- What's wrong, Arthur?"

He heart the assistant call his name, "N-nothing. I'll talk to you when I get back."

"Well, alright…" Matt said softly as Arthur clambered out, feeling bigger and fatter than ever after the water had taken so much of his weight.

He pulled the robe on and tied it shut before entering the room.

"You wanted to see me?" He asked.

"Oh, Arthur Kirkland. Or is it Oxenstierna now? I usually only see people when they're born, giving birth, or about to die. It's hard enough for me to remember everyone's name once."

"We went with Kirkland. Since we're both the youngest we picked the name that was easier to pronounce."

Nathan laughed, "Fair enough. Now, just lie on that couch and relax for a moment or two." He started shuffling through papers.

"What are those?"

"Notes on various patients. Everybody has one, which we keep in our archives. I need yours, your husband's, and I also have a special one for all the births that are supposed to happen this half of the year."

"Alright," Arthur said, sitting, "What sort of notes?"

"Hopefully not many. If you want you can see yours and Alfred's. Once we're done."

"No, that's fine," Arthur said, wanting to get back to the spring quickly.

"Both of them are pretty boring anyway. Yours has your birth, which is mainly how early you were and what we did to make you live, yearly visits, that you came in to get pregnant once and were told to gain weight, and that you were given permission to have a baby a month later. Well," he scribbled something down, "Here we are today." He set down the paper and went over to Arthur to begin examining him.

It was all very routine in the beginning. He looked at his eyes and mouth for any obvious signs of sickness. Then he asked Arthur to spread his legs and started poking around down there. He explained that it wasn't uncommon for men to have things happen to their testicles during pregnancy that they simply didn't notice because they didn't see them. Arthur didn't know what "things" were and didn't want to. He was just glad his were okay.

"Now this," he coated a finger in what looked suspiciously like slick, "I'm sorry about. But it's really, really, important." He slid the finger into Arthur's ass. Shit, it was slick. He pushed it in all the way and began to fell around, which made Arthur uncomfortable more than anything. "Oh good," he said, pulling back out and wiping his hand on a towel, "It's gone."

"What's gone?"

"Before you conceive there's a small flap inside of you, similar to the one in your neck that blocks the tube to your lungs while you're eating and the one to your stomach when you're not."

"Uh-huh."

"But in this case it opens a pathway to your womb. Normally within two months of conception it disappears because otherwise you're much more likely to miscarry or give birth wrong. It's not nice and I've seen both happen. But you're fine thankfully."

"So what's next?" Arthur asked, fearing what could happen to top that.

"Now's the fun part. I'm going to need to see your stomach, so please undo the robe."

"Right." He undid the tie and allowed it to fall open when he laid back again.

Nathan ran his hands over Arthur's stomach and the baby kicked.

"Hi to you too," he said, "I'll get to you in a moment."

He pressed Arthur's hips, which Arthur neither expected nor enjoyed.

"No extra pelvic stress, that's good. Now," he stood and poured a cup of tea, "Arthur, I need you to drink this."

"More of that stuff?" he asked, taking the cup nonetheless, "What does it do anyway?"

"Relaxes you for one, but it also thins your aura and lets me feel through it to the baby's. Most of the time what you have at dinner is enough, but you Kirklands all have such thick, lovely auras."

Once Arthur had drunk all of the tea, Nathan placed his hands on Arthur's belly again, this time placing his palms flat on it instead of just brushing it with his fingers. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

"I'm seeing it," he said, "You've got a single and it's yellow. I'll need to go a bit deeper to get gender." He pressed his eyes together tighter. For a few moments, Arthur watched with fear, hoping and praying that it would be a boy. Then Nathan smiled, "Congratulations, Mr. Kirkland," he said, opening his eyes, "You're having a son."

Arthur let out a sigh of relief. As he left the room and went back into the spring, he felt very limp and loose. He didn't feel the joy until he was in there for a while. It took a good while until he was able to feel anything except for immense relief.

It hit him on the way back up, and he had to hold onto Matthew and cry for three minutes before he could keep going.

As soon as he left the church, Arthur heard someone call his name. He turned to see Alfred bounding towards him with a huge smile on his face. Arthur held out his arms, expecting one of Alfred's overly-enthusiastic hugs. What he didn't expect was for Alfred to hold him tightly and spin until his feet flew off the ground. Arthur let out a squawk and demanded to be set down. With a laugh, Alfred helped him to get settled back on his feet.

"Missed you, babe," he said.

"That's no reason to- I mean what would possess you to-" he was finding it hard to concentrate with the other men laughing in the background, "Let's just go home, idiot."

Alfred smiled and reached for Arthur's belly, "Okay, whatever you say, mommy."

Before he had the chance to do anything else stupid, Arthur just grabbed his wrist and dragged him away. Alfred just kept on laughing until they were out of the crowd and walking down along the darkened shops on the way back to theirs.

It was silent for a while as the two of them walked side by side except for the noises of the party still going on in the background, which faded along with the light as they got further and further away. It began to snow again, coating their cloaks in a white dust. Alfred hurried ahead of Arthur and turned back to look at him.

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked.

"Sorry, I wanted to wait until we got home, but I just can't anymore. I gotta know. What's the news?" His tone was serious enough that Arthur had to stare right back and listen, even though it was hard to see his face in the shadows.

"News?"

"Are we having a girl or a boy?"

That explained it. Alfred had every right to be worried. He'd grown almost as attached to the child as Arthur had.

"Ah," he said, "That." As he couldn't bear to string him along at a time like that, he smiled and placed his hand on his stomach, "It's a boy."

For a moment, Alfred just stood there, most likely thinking the same thoughts Arthur had a few hours ago, processing that their baby would actually be theirs, that they'd get to raise him together. However, he seemed to process it faster because within a few seconds a smile split across his face and he pulled Arthur in for a kiss. His hands went up to rub Arthur's stomach, making him shudder. Arthur decided to let the father have his moment, even if it was getting rather difficult to hold back the moans building up in his throat.

"Oh, God, Arthur, I love you so much. I'm so happy you have no idea. Oh, God-"

Arthur laughed and took one hand away from his stomach, planting kisses on Alfred's knuckles.

"You're amazing," Alfred said, "I love you."

Arthur felt himself blushing, "I love you too. Now let's go home. I'd like to lie down."

Alfred wilted a little, "So no sexytime?"

Dear Lord, he'd recovered quickly. Arthur walked around him, wanting to get out of the cold.

"Come on baby!"

"I never said we couldn't have sex. I would just like to relax for a moment."

"So we're on?" Alfred asked, catching up with a smile bright as day across his face.

"I think so. It just depends on how much your overexcitement drains me during the walk."

"Alright then, I can totally carry you and junior back to our-"

"No."

"Okay, okay. So what did you guys do in there? Other than find out the good news and stuff."

"Well, there was this massive feast set up for us. There were so many different kinds of food, and they were all fantastic. I swear that I'm noticeably fatter then when I went in."

"I'll be the judge of that," Alfred rubbed his belly appreciatively.

Arthur slapped his hand away, "save that until we're back home."

"Fine," Alfred said, sighing melodramatically.

"Control yourself, idiot. Now where was I? Oh, that's right," he lifted his hand to cover his grin, "You should have seen the boys who were still getting morning sickness. Most of them looked like they were going to throw up."

"That's just mean," Alfred said, even though he was smiling too.

"Yes, well. Then they brought us this tea. It tasted fantastic, but it made me feel strange."

"Strange?"

"Yeah."

"Strange how?"

"I felt calmer, more comfortable, but my skin was oversensitive. Apparently it's so that Nathan could detect our son's aura."

"Is it still?" Alfred asked, smiling wolfishly. He had ignored everything past oversensitive skin, hadn't he?

"H-hey! Remember who's topping tonight!"

"Doesn't mean that I still can't have my fun," he ran one finger lightly across Arthur's backside, making him shiver.

"Alfred-" His voice was a little breathier than the condescending tone he was hoping to produce.

"Do you know how hard it was for me?" Oh hell, Alfred had slipped into his bedroom voice, "The entire time you were in there, all I could think about was you in that hot spring Kiku talked about. Naked. Flushed. Relaxed. Damp. Happy. God, I wanted you so bad."

"You can have me," Arthur said, letting the fact that they were almost at their house become more important than the fact that Kiku had told Alfred but not him. He ran up to the door and opened it, "Just go in there and get naked."

Alfred wasted no time getting inside and bounding up the stairs like an excited puppy, even though it was pitch-dark. After hanging up his cloak and taking off his booths, Arthur summoned witchfire and followed him at a much more reasonable pace.

When he reached the bedroom Alfred was kneeling next to the hearth. The fire was long out (it would have been stupid to have left it going while they were gone. Covered in snow or not, the thatch roof would still burn)

"I can start it," Arthur said, "Just go get more wood."

"No, I so got this." Alfred turned to him and smiled, "Besides, I brought everything in earlier, remember?"

"Alfred, we don't have time for-" He heard a metallic clicking, and then suddenly there was light.

"How did you do that?" Arthur asked, kneeling next to Alfred and watching the little fire spread rapidly.

He just smiled and held out an odd metal tube about six inches tall. He pressed his thumb on a little lever on the side, it clicked again, and then there was a tiny flame coming from the top.

"Alfred, what is that?"

"I don't know what to call it yet, but it's a non-magical way to make fire. This little tube is full of oil, and there's a wick in there that the oil travels up. At the top I've got a little bit of flint that makes a spark and then, whoosh, fire!"

"Can I try it?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah," Alfred blew out the fire and handed it over, "I just finished it today, and I wanted to surprise you. Okay, so hold it like that, and then press right here."

Biting his teeth, Arthur pushed it. Nothing happened. He tried again and again to no avail.

"It takes a while sometimes," Alfred said, "It'll help if you-"

But then all of a sudden it caught. Arthur let out a cry of surprise and dropped it. Thankfully, it fell to the stone of the hearth and not onto the wood floor. Alfred picked it up and blew it out.

"That was good, you had it there!"

"Alfred, this isn't about me. It's about you and you're absolutely fantastic," Arthur said, eyes falling to half-mast, "You deserve such a reward for this," he kissed Alfred's ear.

"Mmm, that's why I asked you to top. I've missed it."

"No, you need more than that."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Arthur breathed.

"Are you gonna have another kid? Because that's what happened the last time and-"

"Well, obviously I'm not in a position to do that right now," Arthur said, not letting the comment deter him, "I've got something entirely different in mind and I know that you're going to love it."

"What is it?" Alfred asked eagerly.

"Strip and we'll find out."

Alfred began to tear at his own clothing and Arthur did likewise. It was the first time in months that he'd felt too hot in their bedroom instead of too cold. He forced Alfred back onto the bed and attacked his chest with his teeth and tongue. It wasn't easy. Arthur had to crane his neck quite a bit to be able to reach him. But, oh, was it worth it when Alfred let out all those delectable little mewls and groans. He'd forgotten how much he missed being in control, how much he loved to please his husband instead of the other way around. Alfred gripped at his hair, keeping him down, begging and pleading him for more.

"Love you," he whispered, "Love you so much, Artie,"

Arthur just smiled at him and slid further down, leaving a wet trail from Alfred's collarbone down to his right hip. He pulled away and bit the inside of his lip. He'd heard about doing this, but he'd never actually tried it. He couldn't wait to make Alfred squirm, but he couldn't help but be just a tad nervous.

"What's up?" Alfred asked, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Just lay back down." Arthur caressed the jut of his hip, as if relaxing Alfred would relax him too, "I'm going to try something."

Alfred grumbled but did as Arthur had instructed. Oh, he had missed Alfred obeying him like that in the bedroom. He smoothed his hands across Alfred's hips, feeling more confident now that he'd started to recapture what it was like to be the dominant party, and took a deep breath. He was ready now. Alfred's cock was so lovely that he could barely stand to look away. It was swollen and flushed and begging for attention. Well, who was Arthur to deny it that? He licked his lips and leaned down to suck the tip. He heard Alfred gasp and felt those broad, barely calloused fingers bury themselves in his hair. He didn't stop, Alfred didn't seem to mind after all, he just let a little bit more slip into his mouth. He began to run his tongue along the cock, laving the head and running along the thick vein on the underside. It was twitching just a little bit, which felt strange, but how much Alfred was enjoying it allowed him to forge on. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, savoring Alfred's thick, musky scent. It was so much stronger down there. He moaned, not bothering to pull away. Alfred let out a cry and forced his head down.

For a moment he panicked. There was no air anymore, and his throat muscles were contracting, trying to force the cock out but with the way Alfred was holding his head it was impossible. After a few seconds of pure terror, Arthur remembered that he had arms and managed to push himself up.

Alfred was babbling something, most likely "I'm sorry"s or "Are you okay?"s, but Arthur wasn't listening. He was too busy inhaling his sweet, sweet oxygen.

After gasping for air long enough to remember himself he glared up at Alfred.

"I'm so sorry!" He said quickly, "It just felt so good when you moaned and-"

"It's alright," Arthur said, Hell, he couldn't stay mad at him, "Just grab the sheets."

"What? Why?"

"I don't want that to happen again."

"You're going to keep going?"

"Would you like me to stop?"

Alfred just turned bright red and took fistfuls of the sheets.

Arthur smiled. That was what he thought. He couldn't be amused for too long, though, because Alfred was just so cute with that blush on his face. Lowering himself again, Arthur slowly let more and more of Alfred's cock inside until his mouth was completely full. The entire thing didn't fit, so he balanced himself on one arm and used his other hand to pump the rest and fondle Alfred's sack. He began to bob his head up and down, trying different patters of sucking and licking to find what Alfred liked best. Alfred was saying things, Arthur wasn't really paying enough attention to know what, but they were definitely words meant to encourage him.

With Alfred reacting as strongly as he was, it wasn't long until Arthur was painfully hard himself. Normally he would have rubbed himself against the sheets for a bit of relief, but he had to kneel to keep the pressure off of his belly. And, of course, now that he was aroused the little brat was awake and delivering kick after sharp kick to Arthur's bladder. He should really have been used to it by now, because every time Arthur popped a boner the baby decided that he deserved to be the center of attention instead. It was a cruel trick of nature, but Arthur supposed it made sense. It had to be a defense mechanism: the baby obviously didn't want him to have sex because he didn't want competition for mummy's attention (he suppressed the idea that maybe it felt good for him too. That was just too strange to think about).

Much like his thoughts, Arthur suppressed the desire to calm the child to focus on finishing Alfred. Even if he hadn't been with Alfred for eons he knew he was getting close. His cries were becoming more and more desperate and every inch of his skin was slowly turning pink. Arthur could deal with a few minutes of being a punching bag for his husband's sake. Besides, that way he could keep taking in Alfred's smell.

"Artie," Alfred said, "Artie, stop, I'm gonna-"

Arthur immediately rolled back onto his knees. He stroked his stomach with one hand to try to placate the little monster inside of him while the other milked Alfred's cock until he came. Even as he reached for a cloth beside the bed to clean up with, Arthur couldn't take his eyes away. Alfred looked so lovely; hair sexily tousled, body limp, looking as though he hadn't a care in the world. Arthur swallowed. He felt so in love that it almost hurt. He just wanted to pull Alfred close and never let him go.

Alfred laughed, "You want some help taking care of that?" He sat up and gently flicked the tip of Arthur's erection, snapping him out of his trance and making him groan, "Well, do ya?" Arthur nodded lamely. Alfred laughed and rolled over and got onto his knees, "Well come on then," he shook his ass.

Arthur leaned over and kissed him. He found the slick and coated three of his fingers with it. He made sure to prepare Alfred painfully slowly so that by the time he was finished he would be ready to go and begging to be fucked. All that Arthur had to do was keep himself under control until the time came. Alfred was shaking and making very, very high pitched noises, which weren't exactly helpful. He had to move more quickly because otherwise he would come without any stimulation whatsoever and how embarrassing would that be? But he knew that it was worth it. Alfred moaning for him was the best part. He loved knowing he could reduce such a big, strong man to a pile of goo that desperately needed to be fucked.

"Come on, dammit," Alfred groaned.

"All in good time," Arthur replied, trying to appear more in control than he was.

Alfred was starting to need it, but not quite badly enough. Arthur needed him to need it like his next breath. That was the best way to completely satisfy the both of them. He only pulled his hand away when Alfred had turned bright red and was shaking, trying to hold back his desire and failing pitifully. Arthur knew that Alfred would let him do anything at all right then, and after having to be on his back or his knees and just taking it for so long that thought was enchanting.

However, it was then that he realized a problem. How the hell was he actually supposed to get in? It seemed so simple in theory, but actually looking at the size of his belly and the location of Alfred's entrance… To buy himself a few moments, he slowly coated his cock in the slick with some difficulty. It wasn't that he had trouble getting to it (just because he couldn't see it anymore didn't mean that he didn't know where it was). Rather, his erection was almost rubbing his stomach. But he was a man determined to be inside his mate, and he was going to do it, dammit!

Carefully, he managed to get his belly over the curve of Alfred's ass and place his cock right at the entrance. He let out a loud groan both because of the way that Alfred bucked back against his arousal the fact that Alfred seemed to be aroused simply by the weight of his child on his back. Arthur felt so much lighter with him helping to support the baby. Why hadn't they thought of this earlier? With how much Alfred was obsessed with feeling it they might as well put him to work. But that was too much to think about now. He carefully steered himself into Alfred and slid in inch by inch.

Oh, God, he was so tight, so hot. He'd missed this. He'd missed it so much. He thought he'd known that before, but it was nothing, nothing compared to when he was actually surrounded by Alfred's hot, wet body with muscles twitching around him.

"Y-you okay?" He asked, barely able to hold back.

"Never better," Alfred said, bucking back like there was somehow more to take.

That was more than enough for Arthur. He grabbed Alfred's hips tightly and began pounding into his ass mercilessly. At the beginning everything was perfectly fine: Alfred was moaning and groaning and asking how they'd gone so long without having Arthur top. He was rocking back into Arthur's every thrust and they were making love like a couple that had been married for a month: excited and sensitive and reckless and overwhelmed but loving it. Then all of a sudden, Alfred stopped and became completely still.

"What's wrong, love?" Arthur stopped, his concern for his husband overcoming the primal urges that he had just started to fulfill.

"Uh, is he supposed to be moving like that?" Alfred asked, looking over his shoulder with an uncomfortable expression on his face.

Arthur looked at him with confusion before realizing that he was referring to the fact that the baby was still kicking. Then he just sighed and said, "Yes. He has been every time we've made love since he started moving."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So our baby is going crazy in there because we're fucking?"

"Basically."

"Arthur have we-" Alfred froze, "Have we been hurting him?"

"No," Arthur said, "No, no, it's not that at all."

"Then what?"

"Actually Alfred," Arthur sat up and placed a hand over his stomach, where the boy was still squirming, "I think he likes it."

"What?"

"Well, I love it, and he feels more or less what I feel, so-"

"So our kid is getting off to you getting off."

Arthur winced, "Sort of."

"Dude, that is fucked up."

"Well when you put it like that!"

"Why didn't you tell me? I would've stopped."

"What? And give up on all sexual gratification until he's born? Forget it." Arthur rubbed Alfred's shoulders, hoping to distract him. Being still inside of him for so long was starting to hurt, and he really, really wanted to get back to it, "Now relax, daddy, forget about him. Just think about me and how I'm going to fuck you into the goddamn floor." Normally he would have leaned down to bite Alfred's ear, but he doubted that he could reach.

Instead, he just rolled his hips. Alfred let out a groan, and Arthur began pounding away again, searching for the spot that would drive his husband mad. Alfred let out a shaky little "ah" and dropped to his elbows

"Now that's more like it," Arthur thought, upping his pace.

Of course, then Alfred started to properly collapse. Arthur gripped at him, but it was hard to keep going while he was supporting all of his own weight plus the weight of Alfred's bottom half.

"Up," Arthur said, "Up!"

Alfred groaned, but slid his legs back into a position where he could support himself. Thankful, Arthur resumed his previous pace.

Now that he didn't need to hold Alfred up, Arthur's hands began to trace Alfred's sides, taking in every inch of sculpted muscle, sharp bone, and malleable fat; everywhere from his broad, muscled shoulders to his soft ass. It was a very lovely juxtaposition and the different landscapes of his body blended together and transitioned perfectly. Alfred was beautiful, so beautiful. Arthur gently, far too gently for the harshness of his thrusts, tucked a strand of soft golden hair behind Alfred's ear. Alfred turned to look at him, deep blue eyes full of love and adoration more than lust in spite of his moaning and the sweat beading upon his brow. Arthur felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Love you," Alfred said, smiling.

"I love you, too." Arthur replied, stroking his cheek because he couldn't kiss him.

Alfred laughed.

"What's so," he panted, "what's so funny?"

"Not funny, just happy," He laughed again, "Can't I be happy?"

"Yeah," Arthur said, smiling back, "Yeah you can,"

Alfred groaned and went back to burying his face in the pillows. For the first time since they'd started again, Arthur's hand left Alfred to perch upon his still-rippling belly.

"I hope you're like him," Arthur thought to the baby (maybe it was odd to do that at such a time, but it started to seem almost natural. Besides it wasn't as though the two weren't connected) "I hope that you're just like your dad."

He could be too because he was a boy. He was really a he, his son, Alfred's son. They were staying together. They were going to keep being a family. Arthur felt like crying, but kept himself in check. It would be weird to cry while making love. Then he noticed that under his breath Alfred was chanting his name over and over like it was the only word in the world.

"Oh, my darling baby, you have no idea how much I love you, how much he loves you." Oh, rubbish, he was starting to cry after all, "But you will, because we'll be able to hold you and I'll nurse you and your father will be able to tell you those fanciful stories he always comes up with and we'll be there for your first steps and your first words and your first everything and-"

Arthur probably would have kept going, but then his orgasm snuck up on him and he barely had enough self-control to be able to reach under for Alfred's cock and help him finish too. Once he felt Alfred tighten around him, he allowed himself to roll off of him and down onto the mattress.

"Hey," Alfred said, wiping one of Arthur's cheeks, "What's wrong?"

He remembered that he still had tears streaming down his face and buried his head in his pillow, "Nothing's wrong," he said, "Perfectly fine."

"Arthur," he looked up to see Alfred more distraught than he ought to be after sex, "You're crying. Why?"

He let out a little laugh, "You laugh when you're happy, I guess I cry."

"Oh, Arthur," He wrapped his arms around Arthur and pulled him close. Arthur splayed his fingers across Alfred's chest.

"These fucking hormones are going to be the death of me," he said, sniffling.

"This isn't the death of anything, 'cept for maybe our dignity."

Arthur smiled weakly for a moment, "You never had dignity."

"Maybe you're right." Alfred sighed, "But as that's the case, you listen up in there," he poked Arthur's stomach, "You had better stop making your mommy cry, because his smile is really, really pretty."

The baby was absolutely still, "I think he's ignoring you."

"Figures that my kid would start being rebellious early," he traced random patterns on Arthur's stomach. At least he wasn't nuzzling his belly button with that stupid grin on his face this time. The things that Arthur put up with, "Hey, what should we call him?"

"Well, I like to call him the little brat, idiot junior, the reason I can't hug you from behind, why I'm not allowed to drink as much as I'd like, and of course, absolute pain in the arse."

"I mean names."

"And like I said, I call him lots of names."

"Yeah, those and more when you're in private. What was that one from when you were knitting last week? Your little-"

"How about John?" He said quickly.

"Nah, there are like three Johns in this town already. What do you think of Aaron?"

"We're not going to be one of those families where everyone's name starts with the same sound."

"Can we name one of them Aaron, at least? When we've had like two or three? That's my favorite name in the whole world, Artie."

"You'd better pray for me going through this again at all." He thought for a moment, trying to come up with a decent name that didn't already belong to anyone they knew, "What do you think of Oliver?"

"No, I don't think he's an Oliver."

"For once you're right, idiot. He's too rambunctious."

"Damn straight. He's my kid, and you can't make him boring no matter how much tea and embroidery you throw at him. Hey, what about Stanley?"

"No. Stanly is the same as Oliver. And what's wrong with tea and embroidery?"

"Steve? And everything."

"No. To both of your statements."

Arthur sighed. "I don't think we're going to find a name at random," he said, leaving their hobby argument to a different date.

"Probably not," Alfred said, "Hey, John would have been good if there weren't so many, right?"

"That's right. So something like John would suit him probably." he reached his hand down to cup the bottom of his stomach, "A good strong, short name, I think."

For a moment they both just looked down at Arthur's unresponsive belly.

"I think he went back to sleep." Arthur traced his thumb in the same spot as usual, "I swear to God, he's either full of energy or just laying there like a dead thing."

"Don't say dead."

"Relax. It just means he's like you."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever seen you sleep?"

"How could I?"

"You're completely immobile. If I screamed in your ear, you would maybe mumble something and roll over. Maybe. I swear, Alfred, I've seen rocks that are easier to wake than you."

"Peter," Alfred said suddenly.

"What are you on about?" Arthur asked raising an eyebrow.

"His name's Peter." He then noticed that Alfred's eyes were locked on his stomach.

Arthur thought about it for a moment, wondering if he should question Alfred at all about where the name came from, but he rejected it and allowed smile creep across his face, "It seems fitting to me." He noticed the way that Alfred's eyes hadn't moved an inch, "But I think you might want to ask his opinion, is that right?"

He looked up, "Arthur-"

"It's okay, love," he kissed him, "I won't make fun of you this once."

Alfred grinned and slid down the blankets. And then there was the stupid grin and belly button-nuzzling. Arthur had to look away or else he was going to cry again.

"Hey, I know you're awake in there." He said, "I felt you kicking my back two minutes ago. Even I can't fall asleep that fast."

"Yes you can."

"Shut up, mom. Anyway, I know you're probably all comfy and chilling in there, but mommy and I have a question for you. You listening? 'Cause this is important." Arthur was about to open his mouth, but he couldn't ruin this moment for them, he just couldn't. Not with how softly Alfred was looking at that patch of skin between him and his son, not with the gentle way he reached up placed a hand on the side of his belly, "Is your name Peter? One kick for yes, two for no."

Nothing happened for a moment, and then right where Alfred's hand was there was a single kick.

Arthur wanted to deny it, say that it was a fluke, but then Alfred was smiling and looking like he was gonna cry. Then Arthur reached down and cupped his cheek, making him smile even bigger.