Warnings: pregnancy?

"Twin boys …" Retasu murmured softly as she quietly shared company with her husband in their library.

Outside the window, she could see the calm snow-covered landscape of Kosu in its coldest season—according to her husband, it was much more tolerable than how it was before its renewal. The thought made her shiver, but she was thankful to be inside a beautiful Iaweian palace, next to a pleasantly warm fire, reading a favorite novel of hers. Her thoughts, however, were not on her novel.

"Retasu." She turned to see Pie looking up at her. "Did you say something?"

She smiled. "I was just thinking of our children." Pie's gaze softened, and she set her book aside. "I think it's … interesting that we're having twin boys." She rested her hand on her stomach. Being only four months pregnant, she wasn't too big yet, but placing her hand there somehow made her feel closer to her unborn children.

Pie closed his book and set it on a nearby table. "Interesting … is not quite the word I'd use."

"Well, I've never been good with words," she said with a chuckle.

"Nor I." Pie smiled. "But if it weren't for your way with words, we wouldn't be here." He stood up and walked to her. "It's as you humans say … 'I beg to differ.'"

Retasu laughed. "Well, what word would you use?"

Pie thought a moment, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Astonishing, emboldening, perhaps exciting."

She hummed. "Perhaps," she echoed. She looked up at him. "Would you ever guess we'd come this far?"

"No." He took a slow breath. "I never hoped for much in my life, especially not before I met you." He felt her head rest against his hip. "I admit, however, that I occasionally entertained thoughts of a pleasant future with you."

Retasu flushed. "You say you're bad with words, and yet you succeed so often in making me blush."

He chuckled. "You managed to say that sentence without stuttering even once, darling."

She pouted playfully. "You tease me too much."

He kissed her forehead. "Yes, and I don't plan to apologize for it."

She smiled again. Looking down, she said, "I didn't think we'd get this far either."

"Oh?"

Retasu shook her head.

Pie lowered himself to his knees. "Of the two of us, you were always the optimist."

"True," she admitted. She grabbed his hands. "But I was afraid of hoping too much. To be honest, I've made some choices I regret just because I didn't want to lose you or anybody else I care for." She sighed. "But I'm very happy with where we are. I never would have guessed we'd be able to be married, or that we'd have children. I was especially surprised when we were given the honor of being Duke and Duchess to Iawei."

Retasu paused. "When the Iaweians expressed … distaste for me and my friends, I thought we'd never be happy together. I thought I'd be forced to stay on Earth and never see you again."

Pie lifted one of his hands to brush some hair out of her face. "I would have stayed on Earth with you."

"Pie, I couldn't keep you from your family." She hand. "But we can be glad that that's not what happened."

He nodded. "Yes, I couldn't be more glad of that." His gaze lowered from her eyes to her stomach. "Have you considered what we might name them?"

"Oh, I have, actually!" she said in excitement. "I wasn't sure how you wanted to name them, but I was thinking we could either continue one of our family traditions. Either they could be named after pastries or after a plant of some sort. Or maybe we could try something different. But I wanted to hear your thoughts first."

"I'd be content with any of those ideas," he said. "But what names in particular came to mind?"

"Well, I was hoping that we'd have a girl if we were going with the pastry option," she admitted. "I thought we'd name her after your aunt in remembrance of her."

Pie paused. "Crepe?"

Her excitement dropped a little when she noticed his hesitation. "Y—yes …" She bit her lip. His aunt had died when he was young. She had been one of his only sources of joy in his early life. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"No, don't apologize." He rubbed his thumb against her knuckles. "That's a wonderful idea. Maybe if we have a girl in the future, we can use that name. But what else did you have in mind for our boys?"

Retasu studied his face, hesitant to continue. "I was thinking Kureson and Kaisou, to follow my family's example. They're plants that grow in water, which I think adds my own touch to it."

"The alliteration is pleasant, I admit."

She laughed softly. "Yes. Kureson and Kaisou Kanesa." She took a breath. "So what do you think? And answer honestly."

The corners of Pie's mouth twitched upwards. "Are you insecure in your choices?"

She swatted his shoulder playfully. "Don't tease me." He laughed. "I want you to like them, but I don't want you to lie to me."

"I'm offended," he said jokingly. "I'd never lie to you."

"Stop stalling, Pie!" she giggled.

"I love your choices." He kissed her. "They're perfect."

"Will your family be upset if we don't follow the naming tradition?"

Pie shook his head. "Our relationship already breaks tradition, and they blessed our marriage, despite the rest of my people wishing against it. Even if I am a … 'rule-follower', as Quiche puts it, I believe we've come too far to care about such traditions now."

Retasu gave him another kiss. "You? A rule-follower? Who would've guessed!"

"Tease," he murmured in amusement.

"It's only fair, darling," she said before giving him yet another kiss. "I love you."

"And I love you." He pulled her back for a longer kiss.

Written in early 2021.