Over the next few moons leading up to the coronation, Atem saw a magnificent change in Seto's behavior and moods. His partner had evolved…for the better.

He was polite and well-mannered towards everyone, even winning over Shadi who previously loathed him with the burning fury of a thousand suns.

Talk of the kind prince travelled far and wide through the kingdom and beyond, even managing to squash the rumors about Seto's previous nasty behavior towards dolphin guardians near his Private Rock. It was explained away with shore service and trauma from being a warrior as a hatchling.

Atem was constantly amazed every time a merperson approached him with praise about his mate, and usually fondly remembering a compassionate encounter they had with Seto, however short it was.

Solomon was practically glowing with pride, swimming around and boasting to anyone who would listen about 'tellyphones' and 'steel cuff technology,' innovated by Adina's egg-bearing father, who was married to his grandson, who was soon to be expecting royal twins. It got to a point where people would try to swim a bit further away from the old king to avoid having their ears talked off about twins who had decades to go before hatching.

Seto himself was busy making trips to and from the resort, bringing with him magazines for the girls, distilled drinks for the men, and fresh fruit for those who had never tasted it before.
He seemed to know exactly what people liked and just what to give them.
Atem witnessed everyone putting in extra effort to please Seto, knowing they would eventually get something grand in return for their compliance.

Mahad was extremely pleased to be serving under Seto, having been gifted multiple sets of hair accessories, steel cuffs, and phones for covert communication. He was happier than Atem had seen him in decades, and his admiration for Seto rose anytime Mahad showed him extra respect, always complimenting him on choosing Seto as a mate, admitting that at first, he was wrong about the prince.

And Atem himself had realized his workload had been miraculously lessened. Seto was so good at delegating, they had time to themselves to reconnect emotionally, visit Adina on shore, or make love. Sometimes they would sit with the twins, or gossip about their friends, or even manage to read several volumes of books for many sunlit days at time, only because it had been planned that way.

Those relaxing days rolled into Resting Periods, and with it came a magnificent quiet that helped cleanse his mind and soul from all the work he'd been doing with Seto.

In all his moons as a sitting royal, Atem's life had never been so organized and delightful at the same time.

He was always alerted by octopus before every serious meeting, so he could conserve his energy and mentally prepare. A helpful schedule with barnacle markers had been carved into the wall in the hallway outside his room, so all he had to do was check it.
A gray octopus had been assigned to move the markers if anything changed.

Seto's impressive utilization of the octopi in their kingdom had earned much envy and praise from neighboring kingdoms, some sending royal consorts to follow Seto around, attempting to copy his methods. Seto always put on a kind face and showed tolerance, but Atem knew that at the end of the ordeal, he would always get an earful from Seto about how annoying that merperson was because they were 'asking too many pointless questions.'

People's requests had also been streamlined with verbal recordings.
All anyone had to do was speak into the device Seto had installed by the courtyard sculpture, and any royal staff member who was idle would be assigned to listen to requests and fulfill as many as they could before going back to regular, scheduled work.

Much of the coronation planning had been left to Seth, and Atem had a sneaking feeling Seth wasn't pulling his weight there, because every time he met Seto's twin, there were fresh love-markings all down his back and chest, and he would flush the same way Seto would when he was hiding behind a lie.

One afternoon, Seto was swimming down the men's hall to sneak in a nap when Atem came speeding towards him breathlessly, his eyes bright with excitement.

"They're here! The best goldsmiths from the entire ocean have arrived!"

Seto blinked and felt his shoulders grow heavy with exhaustion and shock. What?

"The entire ocean? Come on, Atem—" Seto palmed his brow and sighed, eyeing his door longingly, but he was pulled away by the arm as Atem continued to talk excitedly.

"It was a surprise. Solomon and Seth arranged it behind your back, and I placed this meeting at a time when I knew you had a break," Atem breathed, giving his hand a squeeze and throwing him a glowing look over his shoulder that made his chest tighten.

"So…how many goldsmiths is that exactly?" Seto asked, dreading the answer, and Atem's reply was swift.

"Only twelve."

"Great," Seto replied dryly, rolling his eyes. This meant he had to turn away eleven skilled goldsmiths and make enemies before the crown even landed on his head. Awesome.

"If you like their work, you could ask them to make other items for you, like a new throne or a set of armbands perhaps?" Atem asked hopefully, pulling him urgently down the hallway and into the main dining room.

Seto arranged his face into a pleasant expression and noticed twelve merpeople seated at the long table, with shining, golden trinkets all lined neatly before them, waiting for him to approve.

Solomon and Seth swam up to him instantly, raining excited thoughts down on him in giant waves.

Brother! Lighten up, I know you're tired, but you'll enjoy this, Seth said warmly, clapping him on the back.

Yes, my dear boy, smile! This will be a crown to pass down for generations! Solomon encouraged, grabbing his arm and steering him over to the head of the table, instructing him to start from the goldsmith sitting nearest to him.

Seto blinked rapidly and managed a smile, trying to sort out his turbulent feelings. Part of him was celebrating furiously, because this was everything he had been working towards his entire life. This was the promotion of a lifetime. Another part of him was afraid, deeply afraid, and he shoved that fear away, disgusted at himself for even feeling an ounce of doubt.

This was his birthright.

His own mother and father weren't alive to witness this moment, so he had to make the most of this honor.

Seth was hovering above the table, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he pointed at a stack of delicate golden bracelets, "Seto, do you like those?"

Seto moved to hover side Seth, looking down at the bracelets and not really seeing them. The table was covered with finely made jewelry, some of the best he'd seen, but something else was bothering him. There was a strange ripple of dissent crackling in the water the moment Seth had spoken up, and Seto frowned, wondering if it was jealousy from the other goldsmiths, so he decided to test this theory.

He swam down the table and pointed at one item in front of every goldsmith, seeing them sit up straighter when he praised them.

"Those are really nice earrings," Seto said, gesturing for Atem to take a closer look. "You'll like them. Oh, is this a cadet-training dagger? Fascinating." He picked up the weighted dagger, his fingertips tingling from the way the goldsmith was staring at him with a tight-lipped expression.

Seto set the knife down and moved onto the next set of items, feeling the water around him crackle again. Yes, there it was. Fiery hot resentment from the other eleven goldsmiths. Every time he praised someone, the others would become irritated.
This was a bad situation to be in.

"Who forged your crown?" Seto asked Solomon innocently. The old merman beamed proudly as he replied, "A retired smither from the Northern Isles. She worked wonders with all kinds of metals."

"Right," Seto said, nodding as he wondered if this was his salvation. Maybe these craftsmen wouldn't hate him as much if he picked based off of a recommendation from his Elder.

"Who here is a metalsmith?" Seto asked quickly, and to his supreme relief, everyone at the table raised their hand.

Solomon, Seth, and Atem all frowned, wondering what Seto was planning.

"Then I want a group effort," Seto announced, feeling very much like his old self back at the head of a corporate meeting table. If he replaced every face at this table with a bunch of suits in his mind, there was no difference.

"…Brother, I don't see how that's possible," Seth lowered his voice dangerously, curling his fists behind his back to hide his frustration. What was Seto doing?! Being reckless, clearly!

"Why not?" Seto turned to give Seth a steely look that said, 'shut up and play along'.

"We need one crown, not twelve," Seth said tiredly, and Seto frowned at his twin.

"You mean two. Are you not wearing one?" He shot back, his chest tightening with dread.

"I am wearing the same one…as you," Seth replied testily, his eyes flashing. "Please don't make a scene."

"I'm not," Seto retorted, folding his arms across his chest and hating how he was so visibly fighting with Seth in front of all these strangers. "One crown, twelve minds. How is this hard? I also want a set of cadet daggers to be made for Noah, and a matching set of armbands for us, and Adina included. They're not just making one crown. They're making everything we're going to be wearing."

There was a ringing silence and Atem held his breath, listening to the thoughts of the goldsmith's leaking into the water.

"…This Prince is a tad insane…I quite like him!"

"He's asking all twelve of us to make an entire line of family jewels?"

"Can he say it clearly and stop fighting with his twin?"

"The rumors I heard about Prince Seto are true. He must've felt something…."

Seto turned to face the twelve craftsmen sitting rigidly at the table, all with their heads lowered respectfully as he spoke up.

"I need an entire range of finery, I intend to wear these until the end of my rule," Seto said firmly, seeing several ears reddening at his words. "My children will wear them too. We have twins hatching this decade, so I want crowns, armbands, earrings, rings, all sized for each stage of development. So put your minds together and bring me a beautiful line worth remembering."

Solomon nodded grandly with approval, his chest bursting with pride at Seto's touching and inspiring speech. How nice. Seto was including everyone in the process, making sure not one goldsmith was singled out. This would be the jewelry-line of the millennia, all worn by his great-great-granddaughter and his soon-to-be, great-great-grandsons.

"Don't start forging until you have a united vision," Seto added, seeing heads slowly raise to give him admiring looks. "I want your drafts down on paper. Don't rush it."

He turned with a swish of his fins to swim for the exit, feeling Seth and Atem follow him closely, waiting until they were out of mind to rain praise down upon him.

"Oh thank Helios," Seth started, patting his brow with the back of his hand. "They were so angry for the first few heartbeats."

"You put a bunch of skilled craftsmen together in a room and then ask them to compete for royal attention, how do you see that panning out without a war?" Seto rolled his eyes, feeling Atem's warm hand on his arm.

"You kept the peace," Atem said warmly, giving Seto a gentle smile. "Now let's nurse our twins and get some sleep. I'm exhausted."

Seth mumbled something and swam away first. Seto watched his twin leave and shook his head in disgust.

"He can't leave that Hunter alone," Seto mused, letting Atem lead him down the hallway back to the men's wing. "At the rate they're going, you think he'll bear an egg?"

"Oh hell, I don't know," Atem replied through gritted teeth, unsure of how to feel about another Seto-clone swimming around with two-colored eyes. "They say merpeople born with eyes of two colors have been cursed by a Leviathan at birth."

"Thanks for telling me that now," Seto smirked, wondering why he'd never heard this story before. "Where'd you learn that?"

"…Something Isis told me," Atem replied airily, and Seto nodded, floating into his room and fanning his fins to shut the door behind him.

Atem glanced around the room before throwing himself down on the bed, eyeing all the new décor that had been added. Drawings gifted by the children in the kingdom had been lovingly preserved behind a glass and mounted to the wall, surrounded by Adina's masterpieces, some taken from land and preserved as well.

Various woven kelp art was also hanging on the walls, most of them displaying scenes of life from the royal village, or sunsets from land. One even had an impressive attempt at Seto's face, and Seto had boldly hung it in the middle. Atem blinked and spotted one piece with his own spiky hair in it, and he let out a laugh when he noticed Seto had placed a shell where his nose should be, presumably because the weaver had woven his nose incorrectly.

"What? What's so funny?" Seto asked tiredly, curling up in bed beside Atem.

"That…" Atem said, pointing a clawed finger at the bad weaving. "Ah there's one of Adina… That one is nicer."

Seto nodded into his pillow, drifting off immediately. He was aching with exhaustion in his bones, and Atem somehow still had the energy to talk.

Atem glanced up and admired the mixed pearl and diamond chandelier, seeing more kelp art being hung from the ceiling, followed by a few bio-luminescent fish who were extremely quiet and swam in beautiful formation around the chandelier.

Atem's appreciation for Seto rose. They were all gifts from people in the kingdom. Impressive… Even he himself hadn't received fish as gifts yet. Was Seto's status surpassing his own somehow?

"You are loved," Atem said quietly, his heart swelling with relief at all the wonderful, touching art. He turned to glance at Seto, expecting a reaction, but his partner had fallen asleep, his shoulders rising and falling gently while a thin stream of bubbles leaked from his beautiful lips and floated up to the ceiling.

Several months passed by in a blur.

Adina finished her year of school on land and returned with Noah in tow, and together they decorated his room with a plethora of multi-colored shells, fish, and rocks they found when touring with Seth's army every two weeks. The kingdom was eerily silent while the two royal children were gone.

Seto and Atem spent more time than ever in the nursery. Something had changed, and the eggs were steadily growing warmer to the touch every time they visited.

During one resting period, Seto crawled out of bed with Atem, feeling oddly restless. They both agreed that holding the twins would bring sleep, and the moment they released the eggs from the incubators, Seto nearly dropped his egg from shock when the membrane burned at the touch.

"They're hatching!" Atem breathed excitedly, and the Medic rushed to pull out the viewing stand, sending messengers scrambling left and right to rouse the kingdom.

Numb with shock and unsure what to expect, Seto could only sit in one of the available beds and cradle the burning egg to his chest, realizing this was it. He finally got to see with his own eyes what a hatching would look like. He'd seen Adina's hatching multiple times through Atem's memories, but it wasn't the same.

Everyone rushed into the infirmary, including Adina and Noah, arm-in-arm and yawning unhappily.

"…Do I have to watch this?" Adina whined, and Noah followed suit.

"Yeah, this is gross. I didn't have to watch human birth videos, so why do I gotta see this?"

"Because this is different," Seto said gruffly, floating to the viewing stand and setting the egg gently in the green leaves, already seeing a tiny handprint along the inside of the shell, and his heart did a strange leap in his chest. That was…the smallest hand he'd ever seen.

Atem rushed forward to set his egg down into the folds too, then floated back to admire them both. They were bulging grotesquely with the way the babies were pushing against the sides, and the infirmary was filled with Noah and Adina's disgusted whines.

"EWWWWUGHHHH, I don't want them anymore!" Adina shrieked, diving behind Atem and using him as a shield, because something disgusting was leaking from the milky white egg.

"SETO! Does Dad know you're letting me see this?!" Noah cried, gripping onto Seto's arm so tightly he nearly drew blood with his tiny claws.

The ambassadors were floating apprehensively by the door with one hand over their noses, not wanting to catch any whiffs of the greenish fluid seeping out from the tiny, 5-fingered holes coming from Seto's egg while the shadow of a fin whipped itself violently against the edge of the egg, making the entire membrane stretch dangerously thin before it shrunk back to size again.

Fascinated, Seto shut everyone out as he continued to watch, hating how the girls kept hovering over the eggs, cooing at them and singing songs of encouragement. The fetuses were too young to understand…. He'd read that babies were deaf until four weeks, and blind until 2 months, and he desperately wanted to be there when the babies opened their eyes.

He also wanted to make sure they had Atem's violet eyes instead of his blue ones.
It was a vain hope.

He'd read that blue eyes were a dominant trait in merpeople.
Atem's beautiful, alluring dark violet eyes were rare. Not only did he have proof out of books and his own memories, but he'd met crowds of merpeople in the past few months during his duties, and no one had the color of Atem's eyes. No one. Except for maybe Mahad, but his eyes were more like a hazel-violet mix, not a true violet like Atem's.

"What are you thinking about?" Mana cried, fanning water towards Seto's face, biting back a laugh. "You're being ridiculous—AAAAH! A HAND!"

Sure enough, a chubby, tanned hand shot out of the membrane and then quickly retreated into what was left of the deflating shell.

All the liquid inside the egg had vanished, leaving two eerily wrapped mer-babies in semi-transparent skin, and the Medic leaned down to gently unwrap Atem's egg first, cradling the baby to her chest and patting it on the back while it gasped for air, its cheeks turning dark pink with exertion.

"A boy? A girl?" Mai asked excitedly, elbowing Mana aside to get a better look, and she was shoved away by a manicured hand. The women tussled briefly before the Medic announced, "Male!"

Solomon sagged against the wall and quickly found a place to sit, weak and trembling with joy.

They're both boys, Seto thought faintly as he watched the Medic hand the baby over to Atem, and Atem instantly disappeared from his sight as everyone crowded around him to see the baby's face.

The medic bent over the viewing stand to unwrap the second twin, and held him up to pat his back, and Seto glanced around, realizing everyone wasn't really paying attention, because one had been born first.
This…must've been how Seth felt his entire life.
Mildly neglected, but still present.

This one gets special attention from me, Seto thought viciously as the baby coughed up a sludge of greenish phlegm just like the other one, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Another boy. Congratulations," the Medic said happily, handing the baby to Seto, who barely managed to support the head on his arm before he was surrounded by glowing faces and wisps of hair floating under his nose while everyone bent down to coo at the infant in his arms.

Atem bobbed happily up and down in the water, handing the baby off to his grandfather before circling Seto from above, admiring the bright red fins waving to and fro while the baby coughed and cried loudly.

"Red fins on them both. I'm happy," Atem said warmly, and Seto nodded, feeling like he was floating out of his own body when the tiny hand drew a few droplets of blood when the baby swiped him across his chest, making everyone gasp and back away fearfully.

"This one's just like Adina!" Mana cried, trying to hide her horror as Seto healed fluidly and gave the baby a beaming smile. "Adina come look…"

Adina and Noah were nowhere to be seen. They'd made a quiet escape back to their rooms while everyone had been fawning over the newly arrived infants.

"Now you'll want to nurse as frequently as possible," the Medic recited, handing Seto a bottle of fresh water. "Unlimited supply of fresh water up until they turn three, and then once a night until they're five."

Seto lowered the bottle and watched in amazement as the baby reached out and latched onto the nub with enthusiasm. He couldn't stop staring at the tiny patch of black hair growing in thinly, and he smiled so wide that, his cheeks hurt.

Atem sat down beside him, rolling his eyes as he let Solomon hold the bottle up for the baby while he carried it in his arms, and he gave Seto a tired smile.

This was how he treated Adina too, he said privately, and Seto nodded, extremely grateful that Solomon wasn't choosing to hover over him instead, but that notion was shattered when the old merman reached intrusively under his nose to support the bottle higher while the baby drank in deep drafts.

"Good boys… Grandpapa is here…" Solomon chuffed, and Seto wanted to scream, but he reminded himself to keep his temper.

The babies finished drinking, and Solomon swam away with both empty bottles in his arms, searching for the place in the cabinet to put them down.

Inching closer to Seto, Atem rested his head on his shoulder and let out a contented sigh, enjoying the heavenly bubble of warmth they'd created for themselves. He'd never imagined this type of happiness being remotely possible for himself. He never saw himself as a father, but now, he couldn't see himself as anyone but a father for the beautiful children he shared with Seto.

Being captured by Seto in a wading pool on land was one of the best things that had ever happened to him in his entire life.

"Thank you," Atem murmured, closing his eyes and pressing his cheek tighter against Seto's warm shoulder.

"For what?" Seto replied stiffly, feeling the baby shift in his arms, so he adjusted his position to make him more comfortable, still seeing Solomon floating by the Medic's cabinet, ranting to the nurse and telling him about the 'miraculous hatching' of his two twin grandsons.

"For spearing my fins with a weapon and then mating with me on land," Atem replied cheekily, and he received a playful nudge from Seto that almost woke the baby in his arms. He withdrew in annoyance, bending forward to rock the baby back to sleep.

Shut up, Seto bit back a smile and glanced down at the tiny joy in his arms, feeling like his chest was about to explode with an indescribable happiness.

This was incredible. He'd managed to carve himself a new life after nearly facing death on so many occasions, and it was all thanks to his own will to live.
This would be a powerful lesson he needed to impart onto his merchildren.
Willpower reigned supreme and they would become the most powerful royal family underwater if all their children could grasp this concept properly.

"What are you thinking about?" Atem asked sleepily, keeping his eyes closed and hearing Seto rant about Gods and willpower in his mind while tiny bubbles emerged from the baby's beautiful lips.

"Our future," Seto replied vaguely, and he laid back onto the sponge bed, feeling Atem curling up comfortably beside him before falling asleep, leaving him awake to listen to the sounds of the twins breathing in sync in their arms.

Everything was perfect.

･･･ THE END ･･･

Author's note:

THE END.
THE END FOR REAL NOW OMG
thank you for reading this LONG-ASS STORY
83 mdfnufukibg chapters!
My longest story yet and here I thought I was gonna stop at ch 60.

Thank you for your comments, and your kudos and your words of encouragement. This story took me (checks) TWO YEARS to complete.
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Ugli