"Okay Queen" Queen said to herself, "You Can Do This. You're Ready To Tell King About: Your Biggest Wish." She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and repeated this process for a few more times.
At the same time, King entered the bedroom and immediately had a seat on the bed.
"Ah Kingy Wingy! I'm Glad You're Here." Queen hugged her husband tightly and settled herself next to him.
"Were you able to sort your thoughts out well enough the other minute?" King asked.
"Surely I Was How About You?"
"Yes, me too. I feel a little better from the inside."
"That's Good Because So Do I And Especially Now That You're Here."
"Our solitary time did a lot of good to the both of us, huh?" King kissed Queen's forehead. "Now that I'm feeling good enough myself, I'd like to discuss a little something with you."
"Oh That's A Coincidence Me Too. But You Go First Since You Said It First."
"No, sweet Queenie Beanie. You go first. You still seem a little more nervous than I am."
"Oh?" Queen's visor showed four question marks while she cocked her head a little.
"That's… probably a husband thing I have going on?" The spadeling chuckled a little.
"Well Okay The Thing I Wanted To Discuss Was That I Am 99,99999% Ready To Have: A Baby With You."
"A baby, you say?"
"Yes Of Course Silly Sweetie Honey We Both Considered This Ever Since Over 3 Years Ago Right?"
"We indeed did, but the thing is that I… well… happened to want to tell you the same thing."
"You What?" The four question marks on Queen's visor became bigger and a little more obvious.
"I, too, am ready to have a baby. I hope we can strengthen and repair our marriage that way, plus, we both need someone in the line of coronations, right?"
Those sentences unfortunately fell on deaf ears due to the cyber monarch's visor now showing the text 'Serial Number Q5U4EX7YY2E9N .exe has stopped working', meaning that she currently experienced one of her iconic yet not-often-occurring errors.
"You're probably surprised that we both happened to want to discuss the same topic, huh? And that this happened to be the reason why we both needed some time alone, too?"
Queen slowly got back to her senses and nodded.
"For the last months in which we both became strained with one another, I really have been considering to have a child with you as one of the few actual attempts to improve our marriage."
"Me Too But I Never Had The Courage To Tell You Simply Because I Thought You'd Get: Angry About It."
"Me? Angry because you're ready to have a child?"
"I Mean It Could Be Possible That You Weren't Ready."
"That's a legitimate point you got there. You know… I was honestly afraid of the same. That you'd get angry when I'd tell you. But the contrary happened, and I feel so relieved about it."
"We Probably Had Enough Time For Ourselves To Properly Sort It All Out. But I'm Glad To Have Gotten This Off Of: My Chest."
"To be frank, me too. And yet I still have so many questions."
"Such As?"
"Will our child be of your species, or of mine?"
"If They'll Be Of My Species They'll Be Put Into My Own Line Of Coronation."
King cocked his head and blinked his not-directly-visible eyes for a few times in disbelief.
"But If They'll Be A Spadeling Like You They'll Be Put Into Your Line Of Coronation."
"That's a deal." King held his hand out, which Queen immediately shook.
"We Will Need To Reserve A Room For Them Where Their Nursery Should Be Established."
"Oh, that's no problem. We'll just take the empty room across ours. However, it's not that the baby can immediately sleep there."
"Yes You're Right They Still Need To Sleep In This Room At First So I Can Swiftly Take Care Of Them When They Awaken."
"That's… a more fitting idea than letting them sleep in the throne room, for it lets those cries echo through the entire castle, contrary to this bedroom… ouch, my ears are already ringing at the thought of those echoing cries!"
"Can't Stand Crying Babies?" Queen's visor showed the text 'LMAO' and she smiled somewhat playfully.
"No, not at all!"
"Then What Will You Do When Ours Cries?"
"Either hand them to you, or to someone else who happens to be nearby."
"Well That Should More Likely Be: Me. I Can Hold Them Against My Chest So They Can Listen To My Beating Core And Feel Its Warmth."
"Huh? How so?"
"Rumour Has It That Babies Seem To Calm Down At The Sound Of A Beating Heart Or Core. At Least That's What My Mother Used To Tell Me Since I'd Sometimes Stop Crying Upon Hearing Her Core As A Baby."
"None of my parents ever told me that I stopped crying upon hearing either of their hearts."
"Were You By Chance: A Difficult Baby?"
"That is indeed one of those things that my parents would often tell me whenever I'd make a fuss about anything legitimate. They'd dismiss it as a useless tantrum and always lecture me on how much of a difficult child I've been to them ever since I was born."
"Damn. That's… Not Very Polite Of Them."
"And subsequently, they straight-up left me three months prior to your mother's funeral."
"We'll Be Significantly Better Parents Than: Them. That's For Sure."
"That's exactly what I'm striving for as well. Our own child deserves significantly better." King leaned towards Queen to give her another kiss on her forehead. "We'll be the best pair of parents in the entire Dark World."
"And Our Child Will Be The Best One In The Entire Dark World Too."
"Haha, you're too funny, Queenie Beanie. Say, since I can't stand crying babies… I wonder if you can?"
"Hmm That's A Tricky Question." Queen thought for a bit, her visor showing the text 'processing…' while she did.
"As far as I know, I definitely can't. I remember Clover being a baby as if it was yesterday… and man, her cries were far from quiet! Thrice the loud volume, I tell you!"
"I Will Not Refuse To Believe That Since Clover Can Be Pretty Loud And Hyper Nowadays Too."
"Being a clubling is probably one of the most fatiguing things as a living Darkner."
"But As For An Answer To: Your Question, There Were Not Many Times In Which Swatch Cried When They Were Still A Baby, And My Mother Also Told Us That Swatch Was A Significantly Calmer Baby Than I Have Been In That Respect."
"Consider yourself lucky, in that case. The crying of a baby is an even more annoying sound than nails on a blackboard and fire alarms combined."
"Well Those Nails Are Actually An Okay Sound."
King burst out in laughter of disbelief.
"What? I Used To Do It All The Time During: Homeschooling Sessions!"
"My classmates at private school just knew that I didn't like it, and yet no teacher ever hesitated to do anything about it!"
"Wow That Sounds Like The Most Mediocre Private School Ever. We Shall Not Send Our Child There Once They Reach: That Age."
"Indeed we shan't."
"But We Should Probably Not Think About Schooling The Child Yet Since They'll Obviously Start Off As: A Baby."
"No, that's a very correct argument you got there. You know what a baby needs, right?"
"They Need Nappies And Formula In Any Case, Not To Mention A Bunch Of Clothing Since They Grow Ridiculously Fast And Are Very Notorious For Making Their Clothes Dirty."
King shuddered at the thought of having to toss a galore of dirty clothing into the washing machine, as well as the thought of having to change a nappy that'd be just as dirty.
"Sweet Kingy Wingy Please Abort Your Fear Protocol For The Baby Isn't There Yet. We Still Have Enough Time To Set Their Room Up And Pick A Proper Bed Too." Queen's visor showed the text 'true' while she spoke.
"Honey, I wasn't scared just now. It's just… I… I might be ready to have a baby… but… well, let's just say that changing nappies is everything but my thing."
"But Sweetheart It's Common Sense To Do That When You Have A Baby. How Else Should We Keep Them Clean? Also It's Not That They Can Be Kept Clean Forever."
King sighed in reluctant admission.
"I guess I should indeed accept that fact. It's not easy, but I'm mandatory to do it."
"Also There's More Than Just Nappy Changes That Are: Gross. What About Them Throwing Up After Every Feed? Or Saliva Galore When: They're Teething? We Should Keep Many Towels Handy Too To Clean Up After Them."
"I should probably take some notes for that."
"Why Don't We Do That Together?" Queen sat back at the computer and opened the word processor for a new document. "Okay So This Regards Baby Needs." She frantically started typing. "Clothing. Nappies. Formula. Bottles. A Proper Bed. Soft Towels. Wipes. Cream. Non-Allergenic Soap. Toys Because Of Course They Need To Play Too."
"You seem to know a lot more about babies than I do, while neither of us ever had a child yet."
"That's Because My Mother Happened To Know A Lot About Them And She Involved Me Into Taking Care Of Swatch As Well When We Were Both Little."
"Were you considered a good big sister to Swatch?"
"Definitely. I Never Hesitated To Help Change Or Feed Or Bathe Them Or To Comfort Them When They Cried. I Was Especially Praised Whenever I Shared My Toys With Them."
"I see."
"These Are All: Primary Needs. We Might Get Things Gifted From Fellow Parents But For Now This List Is: Almost Done."
"We should indeed ask some of my peers around here for additional parenting advice in case they have a family of their own. Otherwise, I'd feel overly left out."
"Yeah Me Too." Queen continued typing some primary baby needs here and there in the document, and even quickly made a category of secondary needs. "I Think This Document Looks Good Enough Now."
"Let's see… oh, secondary needs? Blankets, soothers, plushies, a bounce seat… a music box? I thought you could sing pretty well yourself."
"That's Why It's On The Secondary List Because I Might Not Even Need One."
"Fair enough." King read through the rest of the document. "That's pretty much everything we indeed need for the first few years. It's been a good thing of your parents to have involved you in helping them take care of Swatch when you were young."
"Isn't It?" The cyber monarch swiftly saved the document before closing the word processor and kissing her husband's cheek for several times. "Better Early Than Late In This Case Right? It's Never Good To Be: Underprepared."
"That's absolutely true. When should we let our engineers build the baby furniture, though? And when should we start buying the primary needs?"
"ASAP In Any Case. Before The Baby Comes That Room Shall Be: A Storeroom For Their Utilities. It's Not That The Nappies Need A Shelf Straight Away. Is It Okay If We Ask Our Engineers To Start Building The Baby Furniture Once We Made: The Corresponding Love?" Queen held her hand out.
"Of course, sweet Queenie Beanie. It might be difficult to build for them after a little over a decade, so it's only a good thing to give them a good number of months for that." King shook hands with Queen, and subsequently planted several small kisses on the back of her hand while dragging her back to the bed by said hand and arm. "I'm glad we're both ready to have a baby now. We barely agree on things anymore, but this? It feels so special, you know?"
"It Surely Does Kingy Wingy Dear. To Both Of Us." Queen leaned closer to King, and they soon found themselves in a loving lip-lock and a tight but equally loving embrace.