Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the characters of Tales of Xillia...maybe except for Ami, but that's it! All the other characters belong to their rightful owners and companies and ect.
I OWN NOTHING!
Duty of the heart.
Jude was exhausted by the time he finally reached his home in Fenmont.
His legs ached, his back felt stiff, his eyes had huge dark bags sagging beneath them, his hair was more messy then normal and his posture was in a severe slouch. He moaned, his groans likened to an undead zombie. He felt absolutely wretched and his legs felt as though they were to buckle beneath him at any moment as he practically lumbered with heavy-footsteps towards the building he considered home.
He just wanted to go to bed and get some sleep.
But he couldn't stop thinking about his (unexpected) meeting with Gaius.
The King of Reize Maxia had spoken with Jude for a short while during their stay in Xian Du and Jude had to bring him up to date with everything that had happened, including how the baby had first come into his life since he had found her beneath a bridge running a high temperature and was semi-conscious.
Then how he found that the babe was carrying a note written clumsily by Muzét herself (how it was legible enough to read, neither he nor Gaius had a clue) and how the king was trying to keep the remnants of Exodus at bay.
Then Gaius had spoke to the former medical student about how to properly cater to her needs when it comes to trying to keep her abilities under control —he had expressed genuine concern when it came to the topic of Ami's destructive abilities when she got upset or too emotional...even more so when the new Phantom Spirit Wraiths were brought up.
Not much we're known about this group but, apparently (and from what Jude had seen first-hand) they were not only ruthless but also a force to be reckoned with.
Jude could not fight back a sense of worry and concern himself, though.
Ami had already done just that and fallen asleep while she was being carried over her father's shoulder. She cooed and snored peacefully as she rested her head on Jude's shoulder and she looked so sweet and adorable when she slept like this, she even drooled a bit as some dribble slid down her chin and pooled on the researcher of spyrite's shirt.
Jude, in spite of his discomfort, smiled a nostalgic smile.
The longer he cared for this baby, the more he found that she resembled Milla with each passing day.
He could remember how he taught Milla how to eat, how to look after herself, how to love being a human and how he took care of her when she got hurt and was left unable to walk —practically helpless. He could remember how he taught her to love the very humans she tries and protects.
He remembered it all fondly, especially the day they met.
...Even though she tried to kill him by drowning him in one of Undine's bubble to silence him, he still found her to be extremely beautiful even though he also though of her to be a very strange and crazy woman at the same time.
The mere thought of it all made him smile.
He stopped in front of the door of his cozy little flat. The door was simple wood with beige colour and it was just a standard door with a bronze doorknob with an additional keyhole attached to it. He had purchased a room in the flat during his time back almost three years ago when he had originally moved there to attend medical school, and had decided that it would be a good accommodation until his daughter was a bit older and he could show her to the world.
He did plan on moving house eventually and, hopefully with some more money he could save up, the two of them could maybe move into a bigger house.
Jude proceeded to use one hand to rummage through his coat pocket and grab the keys.
It took a tense few secs as he one-handedly fumbled with the key in hand, gripping it in two fingertips, and then inserted it in the keyhole and twisted it until he heard a faint click coming from the other side of the door. After nudging the door open with a side-swipe with his foot, he wandered through the front door of his humble abode.
Jude crept silently through the house in an attempt not to awaken the teeny child as he started to head into a room that had recently been renovated.
He carried his child into the nursery that had been made for her.
He drank in every single detail of the room.
The walls of the nursery had been painted a light yellow colour, the scent of paint clung to the air indicated that this room was freshly painted on and it was a last-minute thing more than anything. The floors were made from super soft carpet, much like the soft carpet that he had in his own bedroom. The curtains had been drawn as to create a comforting darkness in the room. On the shelves there were several stacks of books and the floor was strewn with toys and dummies and other items. There was also a changing table jammed into the corner of the room.
It was a pretty little nursery and, while it was generic and had all the essentials, Jude also wished to adapt it into something that fit his daughter like a glove more...but it would have to do for the time being. He hoped that this would be temporary accommodations until he could juggle his job as a Spyrite researcher, his continued education at the local medical university, and his parental duties a bit more suitably.
Jude heart swelled.
As he glanced down at the slumbering babe in his arms as he strolled into the room.
Ami gurgled and cooed sleepily, her demeanour sluggish and lethargic. Her eyes opened halfway with her eyelids being so heavy with sleep. She softly spoke gibberish with each sound she uttered clearly unpracticed yet sloppy and it caused a small drop of spit to dribble out of her mouth and trickle down her chin to add to the amount soaking his shirt.
Jude felt a tender smile twitch on his lips as his eyelids drooped slightly while he reached up and oh-so gently used the edge of his thumb to wipe the dribble away.
It reminded him of Milla in a way.
The lord of spirits had a quirk that included her dribbling too, especially when food was involved.
"Go back to sleep, okay, sweetie?" He asked in a low, soft, hushed voice.
Ami gave a tiny yawn as her eyes closed and she seemed to obey to her father's request.
Jude chuckled to himself quietly as he stepped forwards and proceeded to lower his daughter down into the crib.
She didn't even stir as he grabbed the blanket before he gently laid it over Ami's small body and neatly tucked it around her slumbering form. He knew that he'd cherish these priceless moments of his daughter sleeping and he would treasure his daughter even more for as long as he lived. He could feel his heart glow with warmth as he watched his small daughter sleep so peacefully.
He felt his smile drop a bit, though, when he found himself missing Milla so much at that moment.
He had to blink multiple times to avoid shedding some more tears.
He hadn't expected fatherhood to be so much work, but even still he wouldn't trade a second of it.
He felt as though his heart was bursting and his eyes became misty —he knew that Ami would not be this adorable little bundle forever and that thought (admittedly) made his heart grow heavy, but he was trying to cherish and savour each and every solitary second he spent with his darling babe.
He couldn't help but start to wonder if Ami would grow up to be just like her mother, whether she'd become her mirror image?
He chuckled to himself as he recalled how Milla was when he first met her and how she was focused entirely on her mission to destroy the Lance of Kresnik, how she had little to no social skills, how serious she was, how passionate she was about her mission and how wise she was...completing her mission was her top priority.
How much would she take after Milla?
How much would she take after himself?
Jude couldn't fight back a smile at the sight.
He wished that his daughter could be this small and adorable forever...
Without another word or sound, Jude leant down into the crib and placed a soft, tender kiss on his baby girl's chubby cheek before reclining himself back up to stand up straight yet again and then he picked the side gate of the crib back up —after doing so locked it in place, the crib side clicked with a click of finality as it stayed where it was meant to.
He whispered softly with a tired smile.
"Sweet dreams, Ami..."
A/N: Here's a chapter of some more papa Jude, I hope you lot enjoyed it.
I have plenty more chapters on the way and I promise that I will make them as eventful and lovely as possible!
Have a nice day/evening, everyone!
-Chloemcg
