Huge thanks to T.S. Atlas for the idea. I was drawing blanks. Annette Chapter.

I felt kinda uncomfortable writing this, because if you guys can recall in my earlier chapters I mentioned I'm not comfortable with writing anything that includes pregnancy, which this has. Regardless, I want to write chapters that feature pregnancy in them because there's no greater joy than a husband and wife having a child. At least in romantic stories anyway.

Enjoy.


"Byleth please."

"No."

"It's not like it's anything too crazy! It's just paperwork!"

"Again, no. You are eight months pregnant. I will not have you doing any type of work."

Annette puffed her cheeks out in a pout, sitting up in their bed. "But you know I can't stand doing that! That's like asking birds to stop flying!"

Byleth turned from from his desk and glared at Annette. "Do not make me get Mercedes to watch you." Annette gulped, ever since Mercedes learned that Annette was pregnant she had been strict with what she could and could not do, especially nowadays; where the due date for their child was just on the horizon.

"But I feel bad! I mean you have to constantly take care of me, on top of your duties as the Archbishop." Annette said, looking down at her lap. Byleth shook his head before smiling.

"Everything I do is for the sake of you and our child. You shouldn't need to feel bad at all." He said before turning back to his desk. Annette still pouted before laying back down in bed with a huff.

"Honestly, I never expected you to be so strict when it came to me being pregnant." Annette smiled slightly. "To be honest I've started to like you doting on me..." Byleth chuckled.

"Good, this is what happens when you aren't working yourself to death everyday."

"Yeah..."

Silence filled the room, save for the light scribbling of Byleth's quill and the shuffling of papers. Annette rolled over on her side to stare at her husband's back. She loved him, but it always felt as if he was keeping something from her. He never wanted to talk about the reasons behind his "Ashen Demon" title, he never wanted to talk about the Sealed Forest, or Kronya for that matter...And now he was being so strict with her ever since she'd gotten pregnant, and he wasn't giving her a solid reason. But she had a hunch.

She sat up, struggling at first before throwing her legs over the side of the bed, sitting on the edge. Byleth heard her and turned around, glaring at her again.

"Annette, I told you-"

"Your mother..."

Byleth froze, and Annette immediately felt bad. Her heart sank upon seeing his face, a hint of sorrow flashed in his usually blank eyes. But she pressed on.

"Are you afraid...That I'll die when I give birth? Just like your mother?" Annette tilted her head. Byleth remained quiet, a slight frown upon his face as he stared at her with a heartbreaking gaze.

"I'm afraid of a lot of things regarding our child, Annette..."

Annette stood to her feet, Byleth instinctively standing up to help her but stopping as she approached him. She reached her hands out and placed them on both sides of his face.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Byleth averted his gaze, something he usually doesn't do. "I did not want to appear weak."

Annette furrowed her brow. "Byleth...You know neither I nor anyone else would think of you as weak. Now tell me, what's really going on?" She demanded. Byleth brought his gaze back to meet hers.

"I will...But only if you sit down first-"

"No. You are going to tell me everything that is bothering you right now" She glared at him, Byleth taken aback by her assertiveness before nodding with a sigh.

"I'm not exactly...Normal, I don't have a real heart, for a while I believed I wasn't capable of emotions. I'm afraid of how our child will turn out...I don't want them to end up like me..."

"And if they do? Would you love them any less?"

"No!" Byleth shouted, his eyes widened in shock; again, something he doesn't usually do. "I'd love them no matter what." Byleth's expression softened. "But I don't want anything bad to happen to them at birth."

Annette frowned, she hadn't put much thought into their child's birth, figuring it'd be normal. But clearly Byleth's imagination had been running wild, to an unhealthy degree.

"And then...What if our child comes out stillborn? I'd want to do everything I could to save them..." He held his hand over his heart. Annette furrowed her brow again.

"What do you mean, Byleth?"

Byleth glanced away from her again. "My mother didn't die giving birth to me...I was stillborn, and so my mother gave her heart to revive me." He brought his eyes back to meet hers. "If something like that were to happen to our child, then I need to be prepared to-"

"Byleth, no." Annette was glaring at him again "Don't think like that. Our child will be fine, you worry too much." She let her hands fall from his face and rest on his shoulders.

"It's my job to worry." Byleth smiled slightly before his frown returned. "To be honest, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get you pregnant...Considering my circumstances..."

"Well that obviously wasn't the case, you left me sore for days!" Annette giggled, recalling that passionate night the two shared during their honeymoon. They got to work quick, and Byleth proved to be more than she could handle; but than again she never should've underestimated someone like Byleth. The man barely seemed to breath half the time.

Byleth smiled, a light blush upon his cheeks, he pressed his forehead against hers, resting his hands on her swollen belly. Annette placed her own hands on top of his.

"I'm sorry for being so strict on you...And worrying all the time..."

"Its fine, Byleth. But this is my child too, don't you think I should have a turn to worry as well?"

Byleth shook his head, smiling. "I wouldn't want that. Manuela said stress is bad for you in the later months."

"Well you can at least let me have a turn to be strict against you then?"

"Maybe, for now can you please lay down?"

Annette puffed her cheeks out in a pout again. "Fine...But! Only if you promise me to stop worrying!"

"We'll see"

"Byleth! I mean it!"

Her former Professor smiled, nodding. "I will do what I can, Annette."

That would have to suffice for now. Annette walked back over their large bed and sat back down on the edge, Byleth went to go back to his desk but Annette held onto his wrist, holding him back.

"Nuh uh. Come lay down with me, you deserve a break."

Byleth looked to his desk than back to her. "But I-"

"Nope! Come lay down with me or I'll get Mercedes to come chastise you." Annette grinned, Byleth sighed. Mercedes was being more strict than Byleth was on both of them. She would definitely wound up as the aunt, or the godmother at least.

Byleth climbed over and laid down next to her, Annette snuggling closer to Byleth and smiling contently as he wrapped his arms around her.

The next morning Mercedes would get on to both of them for staying up too late.


I intended for these married life chapters to be a lot more light-hearted but yet here we are with Byleth and his significant other talking about concerns for the future. Ah well, I like writing them. Even if they aren't fluff. Besides! We got like 47 chapters left to do! We've got plenty of time for fluff!

HUGE thanks to T.S. Atlas, he practically wrote this chapter himself.

Until next time.