There's a whirlwind of activity in the Lionett-Nydoorin household that afternoon. Between hurried packing and last-minute filing of Beau's most recent investigation, time is not on their side. The couple barely manages to get out of the house and to the Cobalt Soul in time to hitch a ride with a group of Soul members teleporting to Nicodranas. By the time they arrive to the coastal city they're exhausted and very nearly ready to get a room at the Chateaux instead of meeting the rest of the Nein for dinner.
Of course, that would render the whole trip moot, and they are still eager to see their old friends. So they gather themselves and set off towards Brenatto's Apothecary, holding hands as they walk through the colorful streets.
It's been nearly four years since the Mighty Nein went their separate ways, even if separate isn't ever too far away. They had all made a commitment to monthly dinners at the Brenatto's after the first three months apart left each of them longing for company. The date continues to change to accommodate for Jester and Fjord's voyages, Beau's cases, and Caleb's classes, but they manage to keep to some semblance of a schedule.
Beau and Yasha spot the shop at the edge of the opal archways, the pastel firbolg playing with a small child is a dead giveaway.
"Ah, hey!" Caduceus greets them, "You're the last ones to arrive."
"Our ride was running late." Beau lies for no particular reason. "But we're here now."
"I hope Veth isn't too upset, we did our best." Yasha says briefly hovering before hugging Caduceus.
"It's fine."
"Beau! I learned some new moves that I have to show you!" Luc hops up and hugs her legs.
"Hell yeah, you can show me after dinner, bud." Beau pats his head and smiles at Yasha. Despite the rapidly setting sun, Beau can see the adoration in Yasha's eyes as Luc reaches for Caduceus's hand.
Beau, in turn, reaches for Yasha's hand as a gentle reminder of their intentions for the night.
Inside there's a frenzy of activity, the shop portion of the house is dark but the upstairs radiates with energy. Fjord's laugh can be heard down the stairs, Jester seems to be recounting one of their high seas adventures, and Veth is loudly trying to get everyone's attention.
"Sounds like a real party up here!" Beau laughs reaching the crest of the stairs.
"Beau! Beau! Beau!" Jester runs up and crushes the monk with a hug. "It's so good to see you!"
"Missed you too Jessie." Beau pats her back before Jester turns to Yasha.
"It's been, like, forever you guys!" Jester says, "We have to hang out more, you should come with us on the sea sometime."
"Maybe sometime, when Beau is less busy." Yasha agrees.
"Summer, I'll be between cases then." Beau says looking towards Yeza and handing him one of the two bottles of wine she brought. "Sorry we're late."
"No, no! We're happy to have you." Yeza beams at her, "The table is set if you all want to take your seats."
Caleb sidles up to Beau, "I heard Astrid sent you something interesting, she wouldn't tell me what it is though."
"I haven't gone through it all yet, but it could prove useful to the investigation. I'll bring you in once I'm sure." Beau promises as the two humans sit beside each other.
"It is a pleasure to see you both." Essek says to Yasha before taking his seat on the other side of Caleb.
"You too hot boi, how's your research been going?" Beau leans back in her chair.
"Very well, if a bit dense." He responds politely.
"Say no more." Beau says beginning to pour glasses of wine for the table. Jester sits opposite of Beau with Fjord next to her. Caduceus sits at the head of the table beside Fjord and Yasha while Veth and Yeza finish setting up the last of the food.
Once everyone is seated, Veth being the last to take her spot next to Jester, Caduceus says a quick prayer over the food. Dinner begins in the same chaotic fashion that it always does, people talking over each other, dishes being passed with dunamantic magic, and other oddities that are common amongst this group.
The gang is quick to break off into smaller conversations. Yeza gets Essek's attention about a new research project while Jester tells Veth and Luc another tall tale. Yasha turns to Caduceus, updating him on her garden and how much better her tulips are doing since taking his advice. Fjord quickly joins in their discussion about one of the islands they recently visited.
Beau, for her part, turns to Caleb, "So school is going well, I take it?"
"Ah, ja, the students are finally settling into everything. Midterms are coming up soon, it feels like things keep getting faster."
"Cool, cool."
"And things are the Soul are good?"
"Yeah, I'm in a phase with my cases where I'm just… doing a whole bunch of research. You know how it goes."
"Of course, will you be coming up to Rexxentrum anytime soon? I have a new office space on campus that's harder to get to than the old one. I'll have to show you around a bit."
"I might be, I'll try to send word ahead if I am." Beau says, "Actually I was hoping to talk to you about something."
"About something?"
"Yeah, you know… personal."
"Oh… Uh would you like me to hang back tonight or-"
"I mean we can talk about it now, I don't care." Beau says awkwardly.
"Sure, sure. What is it you want to talk about?"
"Well, you know… Yasha and I are pretty settled in Zadash."
"Ja, I figured as much."
"And we've been talking a lot about, you know, the future." Beau rubs the back of her neck.
"Are you coming upon your point?" Caleb asks.
"It's just that we're talking about how big our place is and all that kind of stuff, you know?"
"No, I don't think I do."
"We have a big house." Beau says looking at him over her wine as if she's stated enough for him to fill in the gaps.
"Do you… want me to move in with you?" Caleb asks.
"No, gods no. Where did you get that idea? Why do you need a place to crash?" Beau retaliates.
"No, you're just really emphasizing how big your house is." Caleb defends himself.
"It's a big house." Beau shrugs. "You really aren't picking up what I'm putting down are you?"
"Apparently not, but you must have a very big house." Beau bites her lip in frustration at Caleb's misunderstanding.
Beauregard has never been a particularly tactful individual. It's a fact the Nein are intimately familiar with, and it has grown to be a part of her charm. But not a single soul was prepared for the sentence that came out of that filthy gab of hers.
"Look could you just jizz in a cup or something?" She asks far louder than anyone was prepared for.
Caleb feels his jaw drop dramatically as silverware clatters to the table.
"I'm… I'm sorry, what's happening?" Veth asks, a bemused if slightly uncomfortable grin cracking her face in half.
"I don't think this is a conversation for all of us." Fjord says, awkwardly dropping his fork.
"No! It's fine, it's like not a big deal, honestly. We just need some of your cum, Caleb." Beau says as if that's enough of a clarification.
"Oh just that, ja?" Caleb chuckles despite his internal bewilderment.
"Um, perhaps this could be a private discussion between you two?" Essek asks, eyes darting to each of the Nein to see if he missed some important piece of the puzzle.
"Well, Yasha's the one who wants to be pregnant so she should also be there." Beau points to her girlfriend, who sits beside her, unaffected by the otherwise awkward conversation.
"Who's doing what now!?" Fjord asked exasperated.
"Oh my gosh, YASHA! You want to be a mama?" Jester clasps her hands to either side of her face and beams at the pair.
"Well, uh… we've talked a little bit about adopting, and we're still going to do that. But I-… I don't know I think I want to start at the beginning with one." Yasha shrugs a bit, blushing as she speaks.
"That's so CUTE! OMG you're gonna make a wonderful mama!" Jester gushes.
"And you want Caleb to be the father of this child?" Essek asks, still hoping that he's just not interpreting the conversation correctly.
"Well yeah." Beau says casually. "Is that weird?"
Caduceus chuckles into his tea as the table reels from the sudden shift in conversation.
"I don't like that you have to ask if that's weird." Fjord says, blushing furiously.
"People do things like this all the time in my tribe." Yasha says, "Are mating seasons not normal for you all?"
"Not really!" Fjord squeaks.
"Are you sure you want Caleb's sperm? I mean if you all are looking for a hot guy, I'm sure my mama could find you someone." Jester offers.
"Um, Luc, why don't you and dad go to the bakery at the end of the street and pick us up some dessert?" Veth turns to her son and smooths down his hair.
"Can we go dad!?" Luc turns quickly to his father.
"Go get your coat and we'll go right now."
"Awesome!" Luc bounces off to his room and Yeza mouths a quick thank you to his wife before heading off.
"Well we wanted Caleb to be the father for a lot of reasons." Yasha says, "He can be around for the baby if he wants to, we know each other so it won't be too awkward. We've thought a lot about this."
"And you want Caleb to father your child?" Veth asks with a laugh.
"Well I don't know he's said he's had threesomes before." Yasha says nervously.
"I thought I was ejaculating in a cup. Did you want a threesome?"
"What is happening?" Essek asks wildly.
"Oh my gosh you guys are going to have a threesome? What the fuck?" Jester snickers.
"I don't know, maybe?" Yasha grimaces at her own sentence.
"Look, Yasha wants a baby, but she wants to like actually be pregnant. And we thought that we would prefer to have a donor who was close to us and could be in the baby's life." Beau explains.
"And you settled on Caleb? Oh my gosh how?" Jester laughs again.
"Well like we said, he lives close, he could be involved with the baby." Yasha starts talking with her hands. The nervous energy of the room is palpable but the humor is not lost on them either.
"Ok but why not Fjord?" Jester asks.
Fjord bites his lips and holds his breath as Beau answers.
"He's way too awkward, and like, you two are committed."
"I'm too awkward to father your child!?"
"They're right, and they don't want a weak baby either." Veth winks at Fjord whose face continues to burn in embarrassment.
"Well and we couldn't ask Essek because then the baby would be a half elf and we wouldn't be around for the majority of its life." Yasha answers.
"I was included in this discussion?" Essek asks incredulously.
"Oh so I'm too awkward but Essek would just make the baby live forever!?" Fjord asks, mildly offended.
"I'm not helping, am I?" Yasha asks.
"You're doing great." Caduceus pats her hand gently.
"I'm so excited you guys! Luc can have a little friend, and I can dress up your little baby in cute clothes. And- AND I can teach them how to draw a really good dick." Jester leans over the table in excitement.
"Are you considering this Caleb?" Essek asks.
"I think I need to understand what it is I'm doing before I can make that choice." Caleb says.
"If we're doing a group thing you can bring someone else. I only want you cumming in my girlfriend I do not want you fucking her." Beau says.
"That's fair but what happened to the cup?" Caleb has a cheeky grin as the chaos continues to grow.
"Are we really still talking about this?" Fjord asks.
"Ja, I need details, bitte." Caleb chuckles.
"Well when are you free?" Beau asks far too conversationally for the nature of their discussion.
"This is not happening." Essek buries his head in his hands.
"Don't worry, lovey, you'll be there to keep me in line." Caleb pats his thigh.
"I most certainly will not be there." Essek nearly chokes on his scandalized gasp.
"Why not? This threesome has turned into a foursome." Caleb chuckles again.
"Maybe we should all go just in case." Jester suggests.
"Absolutely not, it should be a fivesome at least." Veth laughs, egging on the chaos.
"Well, if Essek isn't coming who is?" Yasha asks innocently.
"Not it." Caduceus raises his hand, still chomping on his sweet potato mash.
"How about you keep it between the three of you and we never speak of this again." Fjord suggests.
"Ooo, how long do you think it'll take?" Veth asks, "Making a baby can take some time. Maybe you guys should sign a contract."
"That's good, that's good." Beau takes a mental note.
"Are any of you hearing yourselves?" Essek asks, "Caleb do you really want to be a father?"
"He wouldn't be the father, just a very close uncle." Yasha tries to reason.
"My dove, we'll talk about this later. Lionett, write up that contract and we'll discuss."
"My advice is to just do it a lot. That's-" Veth stops herself short, taking a quick bite out of her dinner.
"That's what?" Jester sing-songs before letting out a gasp. "Veth are you having a baby!?"
"Well, not yet but we're certainly trying." Veth smirks at her friends, "Oh, Yasha! How much fun would that be if we were pregnant together?"
Yasha's face melts into a tender longing smile, "Veth that sounds amazing. Can we start tonight?"
"Tonight!?" Essek exclaims.
"Well, I don't know?" Yasha snaps out of her stupor.
"Okay, let me get this straight." Caleb says, "You want me to be in the room while you fuck and I cum inside of Yasha?"
"When you put it like that it sounds creepy." Beau responds.
"Oh, now it's creepy." Fjord rolls his eyes.
"Where does the cup come in?" Caleb asks.
"Alright forget the cup! The cup was a back up plan." Beau says.
"So, wait, will you do it?" Yasha asks.
"Well-"
"You cannot already have an answer to this." Essek says.
"This is not the strangest proposition the lesbians have approached me with." Caleb says.
"It's NOT!?" Essek asks.
"I'm surprised, Caleb. I never thought you'd want to have a child." Veth says fondly.
"Well, it wouldn't be mine. It would have two incredible mothers to raise it… And I will be in their life, just not enough to cause them any problems. It sounds like a decent idea to me." Caleb says.
The table's energy calms down a bit at his answer.
"Aw, Caleb, that's so sweet." Jester sighs.
"And you're sure about this?" Essek asks.
Caleb, in turn, takes Essek's hand and places a kiss to the back of his palm. "I am, I would love to help."
Yasha lets out a tear-less sob, "I'm so excited… Babe we're… we're going to have a baby!"
Yasha and Beau share a kiss then.
"Well, not yet, but soon. May the Wildmother bless you on this new journey." Caduceus raises his glass of milk to toast the couple.
"Maybe we should have a baby, Fjord, so that we can all have kids the same age!"
Fjord, very nearly passes out at the idea. "I don't think-"
"We'll talk, we'll talk." Jester waves him off before diving into a myriad of questions about the potential baby.
By the time Yeza gets back from the bakery the table has, for the most part, calmed down. Although conversation about babies and the future continue well into the night. Veth smiles knowingly at her husband, with a promise to explain all that has just transpired. And, to try for a baby of their own later, that's on the docket as well.