This idea came from some fanart from anaanaai on tumblr it's so cute so check it out!
L-elf felt tears prick the corners of his eyes. But he refused to let his tears fall right now. They couldn't both be sobbing messes right now. He and his baby. Their baby. The last spark of light given to him by Haruto. The silvery hair was evident right from the beginning, proof that he was L-elf's own. And then slowly, as the cries calmed down, the little one's eyes fluttered open for the first time, revealing a crystal blue that rivaled the most beautiful oceans.
Haruto.
A small piece of him would live on in this child.
"Don't worry. Dad's got you", he said softly. The word 'dad' felt strange in L-elf's mouth. He barely remembered his own father. For once, he had no idea what he was doing. Oh he had read all the baby books. He was ready for anything this baby threw at him, magius workings and all. He even had the boy's schooling planned out for his entire life.
The only thing he wasn't prepared for was doing this without Haruto.
"How can I do this without him?", he whispered.
"Because you won't be alone."
L-elf looked up from the baby to see Saki. Shouko came in after her and Akira stood behind her. L-elf couldn't help but hold his baby more tightly to himself as he eyed them. Akira, he knew, as no threat. But Shouko's flightiness and Saki's possessive tendencies had him on guard.
"Why should I trust you? You both hurt Haruto."
"Didn't you stab him, shoot him, and use him as a human shield several times?", Saki pointed out, crossing her arms.
L-elf's eyes narrowed. He had been a different person back then. He had changed. Changed because of Haruto. And now that he had a child, L-elf wanted to permanently leave that past version of himself behind and have a clean slate with his son-ah. Now he understood.
No matter what they had done before this day, they all loved and respected Haruto. They could all be pillars to support this baby.
"Don't make me regret this", L-elf said.
L-elf felt softer around the edges. He hadn't needed to fight on the front lines for years, essentially being on maternity leave. With the Valvraves still being in use, he wasn't needed in the field anymore. And that meant more time to spend with his son. He sat on the floor while the boy, now five played with toys robots give to him on his birthday by Otomaya.
Everyone had poked fun at the fact the that he didn't make mini-Valvraves. But to the little prince, a toy was a toy and he loved making them move around.
"Gaaaaah bwah! Boom! Bam! Bam! Bam! Iiiiii got you!", he exclaimed, making one robo tackle the other while L-elf watched. Even as he was thinking how cute his child was, L-elf was also hoping that this was as close as the boy ever got to a real firefight.
Suddenly one of the robots was pushed into his lap. "You can be this one", the boy decided, giving his father the silver robot.
"I'm not that good at playing", L-elf admitted.
"I'll show you how!", the boy exclaimed, all smiles and excitement at getting to explain something to his super-smart papa for once. He happily told him all the powers both robots had and how to make them fight and L-elf made a valiant effort to follow the story.
This was one of the things that L-elf wasn't prepared for. Being asked about Haruto. Oh, he had envisioned this conversation many times. He had thought about where he'd start. From the day he'd met Haruto? Without mentioning the stabbing of course. From the first day he had started working with Haruto? From when he had started to actually trust Haruto with his life? To when he had fallen in love with him?
L-elf couldn't speak at first. So when the question was posed to him, he got up from the couch and left the room. He grabbed a framed photo that he kept in his closet, away from the boy's eyes. In hindsight, it was probably not the best idea to keep hidden away from his son, but it was hard to look at sometimes. L-elf was beginning to think his eight year old child was more emotionally equipped for this than he was. Which wasn't a bad thing.
Also, in hindsight, it probably wasn't a good idea to leave without a word when your son asks you about his other parent. The boy was visibly forlorn when L-elf returned. He didn't know what to say, so he simply held the frame up to his face. It was a selfie Haruto had taken of himself, looking off to L-elf in the background. L-elf's eyes were only on the tablet in his hands.
"So this is my other Papa?" The boy reached out for the picture, eyes wide as he took in Haruto's features. Recognition began to set in. He had heard a few stories of the great pilot who was their savior and the one they owed for the peace and prosperity they enjoyed. But this was the first time he saw him and he was not a war hero or a messiah. He was simply this boy's father.
L-elf wished he had a better picture to show. It was terribly impersonal now that he looked at it. But it was the one he wanted to show most.
"Yes. It's the only photo with the both of us together", L-elf said.
And because he was young, and more open, and certainly Haruto and L-elf's son, the boy began to cry. He was incredibly happy to have this piece of his father that he'd never met. Happy that it meant he might be able to hear more stories about him from his Papa, the man who loved him. And yet sad that he'd never get to actually be around him.
L-elf sat back down next to him, thinking that maybe now he could allow himself to cry in front of his son. To both mourn and celebrate Haruto. He put a hand atop the boy's head.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Dopey smile, wind-swept hair and all.
"He is..." The little one's voice broke a bit as the tears streamed down his face. "Papa is really cool."
L-elf nodded in agreement. He then cleared his throat, shoulders feeling a tad lighter. It was as if the tears that had fallen had taken some of the weight along with them.
"Did I ever tell you about the day we met?"
"Uh-uh", the boy said, shaking his head while rubbing his eyes with one hand. He hugged the photo to his chest as he waited for L-elf to tell the story. He pulled the prince into his lap as he began to recount that momentous day.
"He and I were from different places. And back then, I was on a mission to infiltrate his land..."