Friends With Benefits

by Gwynhafra86

For years, L-Elf had a plan to liberate Dorssia and rescue his beloved princess. Anyone or anything which got in the way of his plan was swiftly disposed of, and allies were pawns until their usefulness ended. Having a physical relationship with Tokishima Haruto was not part of his calculated schemes, nor was the birth of a silver-haired, blue-eyed child. HaruEru. MPREG

3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Valvrave the Liberator or any of its characters. I just own my feels after watching the last episode.

Warning: Yaoi fic. MPREG. Slightly AU from canon. Heavily implied smut scenes.

Rating: M for this chapter for implied smut

Pairing: Tokishima Haruto X L-Elf (Mikhail), Tokishima Haruto X Shoko, L-Elf X Lieselotte. One-sided Haruto X Saki.

A/N: This is a fic born out of frustration from the last episode having tons of questions unanswered. I'll try to keep to canon as much as I can, but at some point the plot is going to deviate. Also, do take note that some chars who are supposed to die may not be dead.

There is an implied birth scene in this chapter. Do proceed if you are fine with this.

closet yaoi fan, thanks so much for pointing out the mistake I made there. How on earth did I type Q-Vier… *headdesk* L-Elf's character is seriously tough to write. As much as I want more HaruEru, I seriously can't picture him being a romantic type (except maybe with Lieselotte).

To the story then…

Friends With Benefits

By: Gwynhafra86

Chapter 3

The Council definitely had connections. There was a media blackout, and when all channels came back on, the Magius were gone, including the influential people whose bodies they have possessed. It was almost as if the war ended, and peace came to them all at once.

Through all the cheering, the Royalists came out of hiding and took back Dorssia, putting power back into the hands of the royal family. A-Drei's position as a prince was reinstated, and for a while, it did look like they have won the war.

L-Elf knew better though. He monitored the news, observing for any signs of abnormalities. He eventually concluded that the Magius didn't surrender. Rather, they have retreated to another base of theirs, most probably on another Dorssian Module. At the moment, the newly reformed Dorssian Empire didn't have resources to really track them all down, and he believed that with the revelation of the Magius' existence, humans who sympathized with them would try to shield them from the Royalists and provide them cover.

The people were initially so frightened by the idea of monsters that they wanted to do away with the Valvrave pilots and the students of the school, but L-Elf insisted fiercely on letting the two races coexist. He had an agreement with A-Drei to create an empire where Magius and humans could live together in peace, and the initial plan had been to have this empire in Jior, or at least the former Module 77.

Half of the students of the school would have none of it though. They weren't monsters. The pilots were the only ones who were monsters. They have seen Rukino Saki stabbed and resurrected live on broadcast, and Iori had personally shot Tokishima Haruto in the chest, and the guy came back to life too. Now that they have finally reached earth, a place where they could take back their normal lives again, they wanted to have nothing to do with the war. They just wanted to live as students again.

The decision was Shouko's to make, of course. The students wanted to get away from Tokishima Haruto and his sex buddy L-Elf, as well as their unborn freak of nature. When the news first spread to them about L-Elf's condition, the web went wild with the students' posts. "Tokishima Haruto, that monster, and the Dorssian traitor are having sex? Gross!" "Did you hear? The monster got him pregnant too!" "I don't think that child is human…" To name some of the posts. The female students thought that Haruto was scum for impregnating someone at that age, while the males were rightfully afraid of L-Elf and his condition.

Shouko was deeply hurt at knowing that her childhood friend and crush was in a relationship with someone else. Haruto probably still had feelings for her, and was probably just as hurt at seeing her betrayed expression. Still, too much had happened between them for them to really get together. She was the prime minister, he was a monster. He killed her father and slept with a person who belonged to the same country as those who had held her father captive. He kept the secret of the Valvraves from her, lied to her. Indeed, too much had happened.

L-Elf knew that Shouko wasn't so black-hearted a person as to spite Haruto because of what he did though. She had the nature of an angel, but she was put in a terrible spot because of her position as leader of New Jior. Whenever the students didn't like something, or when they wanted something their way, they'd take their grievances to her directly.

"Don't let Haruto aboard the ship! This is a ship for humans only!"

"Keep Tokishima Haruto away from us…and all the other pilots too…and L-Elf…!"

"I don't want to be in the same place as that pregnant man! It…it could be contagious!"

And of course, the line to top it all.

"You're the Prime Minister, aren't you, Sashinami?! Do something!"

Haruto didn't want his childhood friend to suffer, and so he made his decision. He would remain with L-Elf to see his plans through. He had made a promise with the Dorssian to form a country where both races could live together in peace, and he intended to see to that promise. Shouko and the students who were not involved in the battles so far could return to JIOR on Dyson Sphere, to their families. She obviously didn't want to go. Haruto didn't want her to go either. They still had their duties to perform though, and the offer was something the students wanted to hear. Under the protection of the Dorssian fleet, the JIOR-ians launched off, heading back to space.

XXXXXX

A-Drei arranged for the ones who stayed behind to be given places of lodging of their own in recognition of their contribution to the revolution of Dorssia. He singled out one particular territory of Dorssia and made it an independent state of its own, indirectly still part of Dorssia but having its own administrative system. He gave this state to L-Elf after making L-Elf Regent of the state, and it was here the silver-haired Dorssian stayed. The pilots wouldn't leave their leader, Haruto, and Haruto wouldn't leave L-Elf's side. Haruto had, unsurprisingly, been put in the same lodgings as the silver-haired tactician. A-Drei insisted that with the child in L-Elf's stomach being his doing, he should take responsibility and take care of both their welfares. It was an arrangement soft-hearted Haruto was only too happy to comply with. The pilots stayed in accommodations near to Haruto's and L-Elf's joint residence, just so that they could regroup easily should Cain's forces finally attack.

Without Cain or the Fuhrer, the chain of command went to A-Drei, with L-Elf as his tactical advisor. Haruto, bound by his word to L-Elf, promised the power of the Valvraves as an addition to the Dorssian forces. ARUS promised to lend their help too, though L-Elf didn't trust them. The President of ARUS was like a frog. He'd hop to whichever side he thought had the advantage.

It was a lax period for the armed forces, whose priority went into rebuilding the country, which was still a mess from the former militarian style government. L-Elf went to meet A-Drei to give his observations and his predictions as to when Cain's forces would strike again, but otherwise, his friend wanted to let him remain indoors as much as he could. L-Elf pointed out that the peace made A-Drei soft. Then again, the guy was supposed to be former royalty after all. A-Drei wanted L-Elf to stop being a soldier, and to act like the teenager he was and enjoy life for a change, at least until they needed his services again.

L-Elf wasn't one used to being protected or mollycoddled though. Even when put under house rest, he continued to run simulations in his head, as he lay on the couch, running through all the possible locations Cain's forces could be hiding in. A-Drei had to literally tell him to take a break before he overworked himself.

Haruto met up with Kriemhild and allowed himself to be subjected to tests, just so that they could figure out more about the Magius. He wasn't a pure-blooded Magius, but at least his genetic build was similar. L-Elf went with him to oversee things, and also to make sure no one freaked out and tried to kill the brunette by accident. Haruto did not get into the cockpit often, since there was no need for the Valvraves yet, but the tests did drain his Runes, and a few times he almost did start attacking people around him, if it weren't for L-Elf being around to give him a well-placed punch to the gut.

Haruto needed Runes though, and he still stubbornly refused to get it from anyone around him. He wouldn't get it from L-Elf too, afraid for the unborn's wellbeing if he did. L-Elf sighed, wondering if the pounding headache he had at that moment was due to Haruto or his brat. He had to figure something out fast before the idiot brunette dried out.

He figured that with the Council having sustained themselves for so many years, and no one noticing any of their family members dropping dead from Rune Exhaustion, they definitely had enough resources for Runes. He and Haruto once stumbled upon a Phantom ship for Rune extraction. If he could replicate the equipment for it, he could make sure that Haruto fed periodically to sustain himself.

He brought that proposal up to A-Drei, who discussed it with the other members of the royal family and also with the higher ups in the military. There was some debate as some people were irked by the idea of giving up their genetic information to the artificial magius, but eventually they managed to come up with a consensus that if everyone contributed a little, there probably wouldn't be side effects, as they could easily regenerate enough Runes before the next feeding. Magius did not reproduce, as they merely moved on to a new host once their human lifespan was almost up. With the exception of artificially created Magius, their numbers did not increase, and hence, on a planet filled with humans, Runes should be limitless.

With the problem of Haruto's feeding solved, technically speaking he and L-Elf didn't need to live together anymore, nor did they need to have a physical connection between their bodies. They still did though, for apparently their cohabitation was the first sign of unity between the two races, and more so with the hybrid child L-Elf carried within him. Other Magius started coming out of hiding and approaching them, moving to the independent state, Neo-Dorssia, and true to his words, L-Elf offered them sanctuary. Like Lieselotte, these Magius merely wanted peaceful coexistence, and while their numbers were small (as compared to the Magius who shared Cain's ideologies of being the better race), it was still a step to making the princess' dream come true.

Coming back to their life together, L-Elf neither liked nor disliked having Haruto around him. To put it simply, it was an arrangement for his own convenience, as it was good having someone else take care of him when he was feeling too ill most of the time to move. During the first four months, his body liked the idea of being a carrier as much as his mind did, and he was constantly sick. His mind wasn't affected, as his plans were still as thoroughly mapped out as usual, but he couldn't actually be at the headquarters often. He insisted to anyone who came across him that he wasn't pregnant, and that he was only a temporary carrier. No one would take him seriously though, since his symptoms all pointed to that of a pregnant woman's. With his constant nausea, or morning sickness, he threw up whatever chibi Haruto did not agree with. When he was outdoors, he remained a picture of health, giving people around him the idea that being a carrier was easy. It wasn't. He was just trained from young to never reveal his own discomfort or any signs of ailing. It was a weakness the enemies could take advantage of. The only person who could actually see L-Elf in his vulnerable state was the unborn's sire, but that was mainly because L-Elf was pretty confident he could take the brunette down easily even if he decided to try anything funny in his weakened state.

During that same period too, Haruto was finally going through the stages of panic as a young father-to-be at 17. When he first stopped L-Elf, he was probably driven by his noble JIOR-ian upbringing and moral textbooks stating that it was wrong to get rid of an unborn bundle of cells forcefully implanted into the stomach cavity of an unwilling host, and being the stubborn, emotional guy he was, he had his one-track mind focused on making sure L-Elf kept the parasite. After the fourth month, however, he took a peek when L-Elf was changing, noticed that the Dorssian was starting to show, and paled, as the reality he was denying so badly came crashing down on his thick skull. L-Elf raised his eyebrows slightly, looking at a wide-eyed Haruto who was cradling his own head in his hands, as if only just realising what the meaning of pregnancy was. Most fathers-to-be would have had an instant positive or negative reaction to the idea of a pregnant partner at the moment the news was given, but it took Tokishima Haruto four freaking months to actually have a reaction. L-Elf had always known that the JIOR-ian was slow, but even this exceeded his calculations.

L-Elf had, ever since he accepted the deal to keep the parasite, lived his life as usual. He didn't avoid variables. He just wrote new plans to include them, along with a few contingency plans in case things didn't work out as expected. Going into denial was Tokishima Haruto's job, and he refused to head down that path.

Every time Haruto looked at him, L-Elf could see his nerves written all over his expression. He couldn't decide which thought was running in Tokishima Haruto's mind though whenever the brunette looked at him. It was either 'Oh kami! I'm going to be a father! I'm too young to be a father!' or 'Oh kami! L-Elf is the one carrying my child! Oh shit, I'm dead… I'm too young to die… even though I can't die!'

Most likely both.

There were times L-Elf, taking to his usual habit as a former spy, snuck up on Haruto to monitor his movements. Haruto, in his panicked state, ended up visiting friends and requesting for their advice, mainly on how to be a parent and how to pacify L-Elf so that he wouldn't be killed. The latter wasn't necessary, actually. L-Elf wouldn't kill such a usable asset. His fellow pilots noticed his distress and tried their best to comfort him in some way. None of them noticed L-Elf eavesdropping on their conversations despite his current condition. L-Elf smirked. These were definitely just a bunch of teenagers. Enemy Detection - Proficiency Level F.

Yamada told Haruto to be a man and take responsibility over his wife. L-Elf had cocked his gun and debated shooting Unit-03's pilot for that statement, but decided that it wasn't worth it since all the pilots wouldn't die anyway, and that he should save that bullet for a rainy day.

Rukino Saki looked at him like he had grown an extra head, thinking that he must be crazy asking for childcare advice from a lady he almost married but didn't. "Are you an idiot? If you get someone pregnant, you should take responsibility over it!" Of course, Haruto was too dense to notice that she was looking longingly at him, wishing that she were the one pregnant with his child instead.

When he talked to Akira about it, the poor pilot of Unit-06 just froze up. She wasn't even good at dealing with normal human to human interactions, and now asking her for advice for such a complicated matter was like asking her to crop her hair short. She ending up fleeing, and it was her brother who came to represent her instead.

"Listen up, Tokishima! The most important thing is that you read up and get yourself all prepared for fatherhood. You have to consider preparing enough money for milk powder, and diapers and…" Renboukouji Satomi might be a little too thorough in terms of planning, as he went on and on, talking all the way up to planning for the child's college fees. Haruto went paler still. He didn't even manage to graduate from high school as it was. The invasion of Dorssia forced an early graduation from the school, minus any sort of certificate or complete education. Forget getting a job and saving up for the kid to go to college. He couldn't even afford a pacifier at this rate.

Inuzuka was the only person who said something different to Haruto. The guy was a romantic, and of course, his advice too was more geared to relationships. "Hey, Haruto. You love L-Elf, don't you?"

Haruto spluttered at that, and Inuzuka chuckled. "You know, I was thinking. You're being all worked up about whether you will make a good father, but how is he taking it? I mean, he's the one carrying the child right?"

L-Elf sighed inwardly and decided he had heard enough when they started to speculate all sorts of feelings L-Elf might be having during this "pregnancy" of his. These JIOR-ians seriously had no reservations when it came to saying something embarrassing. Heading back, he drained a glass of water and lay down, trying to quell the distaste lingering in his mouth from hearing too much excessive sweetness from the conversation. He used to be able to keep his energy up even after long, taxing missions of stalking someone, but somehow carrying the parasite made him more tired than usual. His eyelids felt heavy, and before he realised it, he drifted into a light, uneasy sleep on the couch.

He stirred about an hour later, when he felt somebody caressing his hair, pushing his bangs out of his face. He would have reached for the blade hidden under the cushion, but from that breathing pattern, he knew it was just Tokishima Haruto. There was no longer any trace of panic in the brunette's breathing, and he wondered what Inuzuka might have said to finally settle the other teen's thoughts. This brunette pawn-cum-lover of his was seriously unpredictable.

Haruto was under the impression he was still asleep, and continued caressing his hair, then his face. If he had known L-Elf was awake, and if he valued his fingers, he wouldn't have done this otherwise. L-Elf didn't shake him off simply because the fingers were keeping his headache away, for some reason. "L-Elf…" Haruto spoke softly, his tone indicating that he wasn't expecting any sort of response from the silver-haired Dorssian. "I'm sorry for my behavior these past few days. You're the one suffering most from this, and I…I was only thinking about myself…"

Heh. There was no way Haruto would have the balls to say the same kind of apology to L-Elf's face when he was awake.

Haruto continued, not noticing purple eyes which were open, even if only slightly. "I swear I'll never leave you to deal with this alone again… I may not be as strong as you are, but I want to help in some way, and I want to raise this child with you."

Okay, it was a little difficult feigning sleep and remaining absolutely still now, even if L-Elf was curious to hear what other kind of naïve promise the JIOR-ian would make next. The lines were much too sweet, a flavour which he disliked, so much so that they were making L-Elf sick. Haruto took his hand. "I love you." He breathed out before kissing it.

Nausea rolled in his stomach. Screw sleep… he needed a trip to the toilet… L-Elf leapt off the couch and dashed to the nearest porcelain bowl before throwing up. Haruto did seem to be keeping his promise of not leaving him alone, as he followed him there and rubbed his back. He was lucky L-Elf didn't have a gun anywhere near him.

XXX

The JIOR-ians who actually remained in Dorssia, and both A-Drei and X-Eins, checked up on him constantly. The girls, like Takahi and Rukino Saki, actually went out of their way to try to find remedies for him. It was probably a girl-thing to sympathize with someone in his situation. Haruto was eager, but about as useful as a flapping turkey if it hadn't been for the girls actually pulling him aside and giving him a long lecture on how to care for L-Elf. The boys could offer the brunette their full-hearted support as fellow bros, but otherwise weren't of much help either in terms of knowing pre-natal care for one's pregnant partner. L-Elf couldn't blame any of them. It wasn't an age people made plans to be parents at.

Haruto did treasure him a lot during the whole period of him being a carrier. L-Elf still had dreams constantly of Lieselotte, and in his dreams, he promised that he'd let her live again by naming his child after her. She'd giggle but not say anything as she shook her head. She probably still thought him to be very young and silly, but he actually meant what he said. When he woke, all softness of Lieselotte's features would fade away, and instead what greeted his eyes were the sleeping features of an idiot brunette, him and the hard contours of a masculine body.

He meant it when he told A-Drei that he didn't hate Tokishima Haruto. On the contrary, his affections towards Lieselotte were slowly, but surely channeling towards the brunette, her replacement. He wasn't too sure if he could say with confidence that the feelings Haruto had towards him were mutual, but with all the kindness shown to him, and with there being peace in the country for him to fully appreciate it, he was getting somewhat attached to the Valvrave pilot. Haruto seemed to notice that, and the pilot was delighted. Once L-Elf found a better compromise in their relationship, his morning sickness stopped, and he started gaining more weight. With him not feeling sick anymore, the hormones took over, and Haruto was only more than happy to help him work them off. Haruto had a tendency to study him, probably taking note of the changes to his body as time went by. Even when they were joined, instead of touching L-Elf's chest or his crotch as he usually did, his attention seemed to be more focused around L-Elf's abdominal area. It was a little frustrating sometimes when Haruto would stop halfway, then run his fingers lightly over the firm bump which held their child. There was always a sparkle in the other boy's blue gaze as he smiled gratefully to L-Elf for allowing the child to grow. "You're so beautiful." He murmured.

The compliment was somewhat lost on L-Elf, who had more pressing needs to be settled. He gave Haruto a slightly flushed stare and a firm order. "Move, Tokishima Haruto."

The whole process of being a carrier went rather smooth sailing past that point. Even in Dorssia, people were torn between looking at him with fascination or disgust. His friends, A-Drei and X-Eins, watched over him with stoic concern. The JIOR-ians who stayed in Dorssia paid him frequent visits to see how he was doing. He was right when he concluded that JIOR-ians built rapport very quickly, or at least the ones who have actually gone to the battle zone with him, and treated him like a longtime friend of theirs simply because he did help to save them. Inuzuka and Saki were common visitors at his residence, with Inuzuka always hinting to L-Elf just how much Haruto really did treasure him, and that he ought to return the affections. Saki was there mainly for Haruto, who was completely oblivious to her affections. She would throw longing glances at L-Elf's growing belly, as if wishing that they could trade places. If L-Elf had the ability to do so, he'd gladly take up that offer. It was a pity he couldn't.

When L-Elf went for checkups to make sure that everything was in order, Haruto would follow him. The latest ultrasound showed something that finally looked less like a jelly bean and more like a human fetus. Haruto watched the screen in fascination as the medic explained that the child was fully formed and healthy, and that both mother and child were doing fine. Carrier, as L-Elf was quick to correct the healer.

The peaceful days continued, and L-Elf could say that, probably for the first time in his life, if he excluded the barely-an-hour he actually managed to spend in Lieselotte's presence, he was truly happy. Haruto loved him, his friends took care of him, and he slowly began rebuilding his relationships with everyone, increasing the number of people who were important to him. As he looked at Haruto's smiling face, watching the hand stretched out to him, he finally returned a tentative smile and took the offered hand. For once, he felt like he was in love again.

Then he had to do a reality check the day one of their radars picked up the signature of what was unmistakably a Phantom Ship. The minute L-Elf received the call, he knew that it was time for war again, as he slid into his Dorssian military outfit, checked on his combat boots before moving out. Haruto was with him when he dressed, with his eyes lingering around the pale column of L-Elf's neck before it was hidden beneath the collar of his uniform. The other teen was already in his red pilot outfit. "L-Elf…" The brunette began, seemingly making a move to put one hand on his shoulder, but the silver-haired teen cut him off.

"Move out, Tokishima Haruto. We do not have any time to waste." He ordered.

Haruto let his hand fall to his side and nodded. "Very well. Be careful, L-Elf." It was an unnecessary reminder, for Haruto obviously needed it more than L-Elf did. The tactician felt his partner's gaze on him for a while before the latter went off to rally the other pilots.

The minute L-Elf entered HQ, other soldiers saluted as he passed. Every single personnel around this particular section of HQ was picked by A-Drei through a stringent selection process, making sure that everyone understood L-Elf's condition, and anyone who showed L-Elf even the slightest hint of disrespect at seeing his current state would be punished with death. Showing their tactician respect wasn't a difficult task, for even while heavily carrying, L-Elf did not lose his elegance, especially when he donned his military uniform. The silver-haired Dorssian went straight to A-Drei, who gave him the once-over and moved aside to make space for him, so that he could have a clear view of their report so far. "I apologise having to call you out at a time like this, especially since you're already around your seventh month."

"Not a problem. I will not be heading out personally anyway." L-Elf was quiet for a moment as he took in the reports before him. After confirming his initial suspicions, he went back to his seat. "The enemy ship is en route to a Rune Extraction site. With that speed and that attempt at being stealth, it was supposed to reach its rendezvous point while avoiding our detection. At being revealed on our radar, it made a sharp detour from point B-0156 to C-1302, which indicates that the pilot is aware of a mistake being made, and is trying to rectify the situation. A human error. Our opponent is human, one of the Magius sympathizers." He looked towards the screen. "At 0900, the Phantom Ship will be in the middle of Rune extraction, and for that whole duration it will be vulnerable. Fleet One will move in to prepare for combat and for rescue of those held captive at the Magius base."

"There is no way the enemy will leave that Ship of theirs unprotected." A-Drei spoke up.

L-Elf nodded. "Of course not. That is why the Valvraves will be put to the task of protecting Fleet One. I daresay they may be facing humanoid machines this round." With that, L-Elf propped an elbow on the armrest and rested his head on his hand. Planning it from the ground was the easy part of the job. When it came to actual combat, he'd need to reserve his energy in case anything went wrong.

At the specified time, the plan was put into motion as all units moved out, while those remaining in base watched the battle projected on screen. Kriemhild personally led Fleet One, aided by X-Eins. The Phantom Ship would remain docked during the whole extraction period, but they had, at most, two hours to carry out the mission.

Kriemhild gave them an update as they moved in, and surely enough, they detected multiple enemy signatures on radar when they got closer to the Phantom Ships. The Valvraves moved out, and the screen became a blur of colours as all five zipped about, taking out the enemy.

Unit 01, Unit 03 and Unit 04 had the duty of dealing with the enemy forces in direct combat, while Unit 05 had the duty of providing cover for Unit 06, leading the last unit to the Phantom Ship for the purpose of hacking it - both disabling the ship and stopping the extraction process.

They were successful so far, so much so that once the Phantom Ship was stranded, the fleet landed and carried out the rest of the mission by foot instead. L-Elf remained a picture of calmness as he watched on, already having calculated casualties on their side. He could almost see it in his mind, X-Eins' unit moving in and engaging in combat.

A beep alerted them to yet another enemy signature, this time approaching from space, probably sent from the Magius' hideout. When projected on screen, everyone blinked at seeing that the enemy robot had a Valvrave-like build. L-Elf gave a soft exhale at that. It was all within his predictions, and the enemy unit's emergence was at exactly the coordinates he had briefed the pilots on beforehand. Accordingly, the person who would engage this particular unit in combat would be…

His fingers twitched ever so slightly, but otherwise gave away no other emotion.

"Unit 01 has engaged the enemy machine in combat." One of the officers reported. A-Drei gave a nod. "Observe the situation and keep up your report." The prince glanced at his friend, who looked impassively at the screen. Unit 01 was on its own, as Unit 03 and Unit 04 had their hands full dealing with the rest of the enemy forces. It boiled down to a test of the pilots' skills, both Haruto's and the enemy's.

L-Elf's eyes narrowed at seeing green light emit from the enemy robot. Runes… the enemy pilot was a Magius, and one who knew how to use the light of the Runes well. Haruto was immediately put at a disadvantage as the enemy created shields and fired beams, rendering any projectile-based attack Haruto threw at the other machine useless. The only abilities Haruto knew how to use were to possess another body and to do transfers… and also to light signal flares. Needless to say, none of those abilities were useful in this context.

Haruto had to go close combat since ranged attacks were useless against the Rune-activated shields. He wasn't very good at that though, having been a student almost all his life and raised in a peaceful country like JIOR. L-Elf's fingers twitched even more at seeing Haruto's pathetic sword-fighting skills. If JIOR was going to modify these students to be able to pilot Valvraves, they should have given them intensive military training too. Weren't all the people at the port and even the teachers in school soldiers?

A-Drei noticed his unease, but didn't say anything as he continued watching L-Elf worriedly. L-Elf's hand clenched and unclenched, even as he took in deep breaths and tried to keep a cool head. He wouldn't have this dilemma if it had been him in the cockpit instead, as he was pretty confident that he would have made quick work of the enemy pilot, Magius or not. His stomach cramped painfully as he watched the enemy swing at Haruto's robot, raising death flags all around the brunette and nearly taking his head off, if not for a lucky dodge on Haruto's part. The enemy was pretty good at maneuvering away from the red unit before trying to hit him from the back, and he came dangerously close to actually destroying Unit 01 when he stabbed the robot just inches away from the engine Pino resided in. L-Elf's fingers dug into the armrest, even as he gave a slight hiss of pain as the cramps built. He ignored the pains though. There had to be some kind of instruction he could give Tokishima Haruto to get him out of this mess. He couldn't afford to lose the brunette, or the whole Valvrave team's coordination would collapse. Weak as Haruto was, he was the glue that bound all the other pilots together, as they were all drawn to him for some strange reason, probably in the same way L-Elf did to him.

Focusing his full attention on the screen, he continued watching the battle, looking for weaknesses in the enemy's defense by monitoring his fighting habits. His persistence paid off as he spotted it. The guy wasn't Cain, and made blunders obvious to L-Elf's observation skills. Pressing a button, he connected the intercom to Haruto's cockpit. "Tokishima Haruto, you will do strictly as I tell you. When I give the signal, thrust your blade to the back, 3 inches away from your right."

Haruto wasn't good at fighting, but he wasn't bad at taking instructions. L-Elf held his breath as he continued watching a while longer. "Now!" He yelled. Unit 01 moved into action immediately, stabbing backwards in a similar manner to the hara-kiri blade and striking the enemy robot, which came to ambush him from the back again, dead in the chest, right where the engine was. Haruto disengaged from battle quickly, putting distance between them scant seconds before the other unit exploded. "Enemy unit defeated. Tokishima Haruto, rejoining battle formation." The pilot reported.

Relief was short lived for those at base, for A-Drei noticed that L-Elf had doubled over, clutching his stomach. He yelled for his men to quickly escort the silver-haired teen to the medical bay. L-Elf didn't make a sound, and on screen, Haruto was still none the wiser about what his partner was going through.

With the defeat of the forces in space, Kriemhild moved swiftly to apprehend the pilot of the Phantom Ship, and rescue human survivors who were used for Rune extraction. Both she and X-Eins' forces dealt with clean-up duty, while the Valvraves returned to base for docking.

The minute Haruto got out of the robot, however, A-Drei informed him of the situation, and the brunette took off at a run, making a beeline for the medical bay. "L-Elf!" He yelled out the silver-haired tactician's name.

L-Elf lay on one of the beds with his eyes closed. He opened them the minute he heard his name, and watched as a panicky Haruto entered the room. "You've completed your mission?"

"Is that the first thing you have to say?" Haruto studied him. From the looks of how L-Elf still had that mound in his stomach, he had not delivered the child yet. Breathing out in relief, he spoke up again. "You've scared me for a bit there."

A-Drei requested a report from the medic on duty. Apparently L-Elf had stress-induced contractions. The words hung between them for a while. A-Drei, of course, was the first to apologise to L-Elf for actually calling him out to base even though he was so heavily pregnant (or carrying). He then fiercely ordered Haruto to bring L-Elf home and make sure he stayed there.

The pilot was only more than happy to oblige, and once they were back, Haruto reached out, pulled his head down and kissed him. L-Elf gave him an impassive stare once the brunette released him. "What was that for?"

Haruto's blue eyes softened. "Those contractions… You were worried about me, L-Elf."

L-Elf looked unimpressed at those words. "You're flattering yourself too much, Tokishima Haruto." He said nothing when Haruto kissed him again.

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They could barely get a breather past that point, for after they foiled the extraction, skirmishes broke out around Dorssian territory. It wasn't a sign that Cain's forces were coming out of hiding yet, but L-Elf knew that they were preparing something huge. He had his suspicions for one of the possible hiding spots, and after writing a plan and passing it to A-Drei, he told Haruto to move out. Haruto was reluctant though, not wanting to leave him when he was that near his due date. L-Elf sighed. "You want to create a world safe enough for this child to be born in, don't you?" He asked, deliberately choosing words he knew had the best effect on this soft-hearted pilot.

That got Haruto moving. Once he and the other pilots launched off, L-Elf went to join A-Drei despite the prince's protests, and he watched the screen closely, even as one hand rested on the swell of his stomach. "How's it looking?" A-Drei asked him.

L-Elf breathed out and took a seat, wanting to get off his feet if possible. The boots were formal, but they weren't very easy on the feet for someone in his condition. "There will be at least two Magius this round. Cain's forces were secretly harvesting Runes in huge quantities, not so much for the purpose for survival as compared to the purpose of weaponry use. In the previous battle, we have seen robots which utilise a Magius' abilities to shield. The Valvraves are built based on something similar, but we are still at a disadvantage. If this is one of the bases, the best course of action is not destruction, but infiltration. We need to destroy it from within." He clenched his fist slightly. "If only I were able to head out."

"You're overworking yourself, L-Elf. You've already briefed Tokishima Haruto. Why not leave it to your lover?" A-Drei asked.

"He's not trained for combat or infiltration missions. Even though I put him as part of the plan, there is only a 30 percent chance of success. Just in case, I'm putting Inuzuka Kyuuma on standby." Personally, he thought that the pilot of Unit 05 was a lot more sensible than Tokishima Haruto, and more likely to increase the chances of success. He still allowed Tokishima Haruto to take the lead for this mission. The brunette needed the experience to grow less detached from reality.

His mission plan allowed for a small margin of error, but he predicted that the plan should be completed in about 3 hours, give or take half an hour. Still, when Yamada wandered off to engage the enemy in combat, he knew that the plan was going in a bad direction, especially when Haruto informed him that the enemy had sounded the alarm. L-Elf gave a sigh. It was time for Plan F-13 to be in effect.

"Tokishima Haruto. Have you memorized that route I gave you last Sunday?" He enquired. At receiving an affirmative answer, he continued on. "Abort Plan C-2 and proceed with Plan F-13." Haruto might break a bone or two with the plan, which required him jumping down at least 6 floors, but at least it would cut down time needed to reach the core of the base and blow it up. "You have 1 hour to get out of there after you've set up explosives. If you don't get out in time, you will be…Nnnh!" L-Elf's features twisted as ripping pain spread through his abdominal area. Judging from the strength of it, he knew that it wasn't exactly a drill like the one he had been having for weeks. This one was for real.

"L-Elf?!" Unsurprisingly, Haruto's eyes widened as he moved his face closer to the tiny screen on his communication device. "What's wrong?"

A-Drei wasn't helping matters. "He's bleeding! Get him to the medical wing! Now!" None of the soldiers could budge L-Elf though, not if he didn't want to leave the place. His own condition was not critical yet, but the mission was in danger of falling apart.

A surge of irritation ran through L-Elf despite the pain as Haruto went into a panic at realising what was going on back in base. The brunette started giving instructions to the other pilots as he actually had the nerve to go against L-Elf's plan and run in the opposite direction with the full intention of returning to L-Elf's side. "Tokishima Haruto! There is no time to waste! Stick to the plan!"

"There is no way I'm leaving you to give birth to our child alone!" Haruto protested.

"You won't make it back in time anyway. Just stick to the plan, Tokishima Haruto." The frustrations were making the pain worse. When he could speak again, he ground the next line out with whatever strength he had left in him. "The best course of action for you is to complete the mission. You have your battle to fight, I have mine. Return alive, and then you can hold the child."

Haruto was about the say something, though Inuzuka connected through at that moment. "Haruto, do as he says. Don't make the situation more difficult for him than it already is. We cannot allow this mission to fail. Also, could you do something about your lovey dovey talk through a public transmission? It's…a little embarrassing listening to this."

Damn… why wasn't Inuzuka Kyuuma the pilot of Unit 01 instead. He could have had a more sensible lover…

Haruto seemed to have an internal struggle for a while, but he eventually turned and went back to carrying out the plan. "L-Elf…wait for me. I'll come home soon." He ended the transmission and took the shortcut, leaping off the railing. L-Elf knew that the brunette was going to be in quite a bit of pain when he landed. It was only fitting, considering what he was putting him through.

L-Elf turned to A-Drei. "The mission should end in another 2 hours. I will leave command to you..." He barely managed to finish his words when his friend all but had him wheeled off to the medical bay.

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"Are you all right, L-Elf?" A-Drei asked for the seventh time. His friend was genuinely concerned for him, but L-Elf was too busy musing that A-Drei had gotten really soft during the months of peace if he was ditching his duties to be there in the medical wing with him. The prince held out a hand. "Here, use me for support. This really isn't the time for you to act tough." L-Elf didn't take it. He didn't need it, though he did fist the bed sheets a little when the cramps really set in.

L-Elf offered no resistance as he lay there while a team of surgeons worked on him. His expression betrayed only the slightest hint of pain when the baby struggled again, and when they gave him the spinal block (even though they have also given him anesthesia to numb the pain beforehand). As far as he knew, the kid was implanted in his abdominal cavity by that guide programme girl, and he had his suspicions that it might have put a foot through something during its struggles to be born, which caused the bleeding. He could only hope it didn't kick anything of importance. He had requested for the transmission of mission updates to still be played, just so that he could know if everything was going well. That, and he'd gladly be visualizing the battle than see what the surgeons were doing.

L-Elf was numbed for the whole procedure, and while listening to Haruto and the others give harried instructions to each other, the surgeons made the cut. There wasn't pain, but there was a bit of pressure as they worked on him. A-Drei looked a lot less composed, which gave L-Elf a rough idea of what the procedure looked like, and he wisely kept his gaze fixed to the ceiling.

"Charges set! Let's get out of here!" He heard Haruto yell, and he knew that it was a race against the clock to get out of the enemy base. There were at least 12 different scenarios the artificial Magius could encounter on their way out, and none of them were pleasant. He could only hope that no one slipped up this time. He wouldn't even think of what might happen if Haruto didn't make it. If Haruto didn't return to his side…

A loud, clear cry rang out, cutting off his train of thought. L-Elf blinked, then exhaled in surprise. He didn't even realise that the procedure was over, or that the child was already taken out of him. He tried to glance over, though A-Drei held him down, indicating that the procedure wasn't quite over yet, and that the sound was merely the child taking its first breath. One of the surgeons eased the child out of him, and L-Elf remained unmoving as a couple of them took the newborn away to weigh it and record its details. The rest of the surgeons worked on fixing the damage to his abdominal area. When he was patched up, they finally brought the newborn over and held it out to him.

A-Drei's eyes went wide and he breathed out an amazed "Wow". Both he and L-Elf had never seen newborns before. L-Elf didn't make a sound, for a newborn wasn't exactly that pretty, and wasn't worth exclaiming over. L-Elf studied the child. For all his talk about carrying a monster, this child looked absolutely human to him, even as it flailed its arms weakly and continued to wail, toothless gums visible as the tiny little mouth opened and closed, chest heaving and drawing in air. L-Elf swallowed thickly and reached out, taking the newborn into his arms. When he really took a good look at the child, however, his eyes narrowed…

XXX

Pounding feet echoed through the halls as Haruto ran towards the medical bay. He tripped, skidded around a corner and continued running. The soldiers dodged quickly out of the way, allowing him to rush past them.

He threw the door to the ward open. "L-Elf! Are you all right? Is she born?"

L-Elf was resting, eyes closed as he recovered from the surgery. He opened his eyes and looked over at Haruto, who noted the exhaustion in his face. A tightly swaddled bundle lay unmoving next to the silver-haired teen, and Haruto found himself unable to look away, his chest tight as if he suddenly forgot how to breathe.

"The mission was supposed to end an hour ago. You're late. The only reason for that would be you went to the aid of Rukino Saki, even though she had her own escape route." L-Elf spoke wearily.

Haruto flushed slightly. "There is no way I can leave any of my friends behind! The roof collapsed on her!" He took a step forward. "More importantly, Lieselotte…"

L-Elf turned to the bundle next to him. "… No …" There was a slightly bitter edge to his voice.

That made Haruto freeze in mid-step. He stared at the bundle. "No?" He repeated numbly. The child… it couldn't be… it didn't make it? There does seem to be a lack of movement…

L-Elf moved, hissing a little in pain as he did so, and reached out with a hand. Haruto winced at seeing the IV drips connected to his other arm. L-Elf slowly undid the towel wrapped around the newborn's form, allowing Haruto to have a better look at it.

Haruto blinked, then gasped.

L-Elf turned back to Haruto, even as he continued being a picture of calmness. "It's a boy."

To be continued…

A/N: And that's it for Chapter 3. Please do drop me a comment if I made mistakes in the chapter, or if there is any part of the plot which looks unclear.

You could probably tell that I'm being random with the coordinates there. XD

If anyone was hoping for a more dramatic birth scene…I apologise, but I can't quite picture it considering how L-Elf was super cool even when he was totally getting shot at (during his rescue of Lieselotte in the anime).

I suppose if there is a birth scene, it might go something along these lines… (Beware of crack)

A-Drei: Gyaaa! L-Elf! Are you all right, L-Elf…?!

L-Elf: …

Haruto: I'm heading right back!

L-Elf: Don't you dare…

Haruto: Too late. I'm already right here. You know I tend to not follow your plans sometimes, darling. Does it hurt? You may use me to relieve the pain.

L-Elf: … *gunshot*

A-Drei: Gyaaa! There is a pilot bleeding out on the floor here! So much blood in this ward!

L-Elf: *calmly pushes* …oh, it's out… *holds baby*

A-Drei: I guess it's a happy ending then. Yay!

Haruto: *still bleeding out on the floor* Urm…help?

Director: Cut! Screw this! We're going with a C-section next time!

In the meantime…

Please Read and Review. No Flames Please.

-Gwyn86

EDIT (6 February 2013): As thanks to several reviewers, I will be putting up an extra for the birth scene (a serious one, this time)

Take note that this is not going to be taken as part of the fic. It's merely a "what if" scenario.

I'll be writing based on the following what-ifs:

1. L-Elf didn't go through a C-Section, but a(n un)natural delivery instead

2. Haruto actually made it back in time to see at least a part of the birth

3. L-Elf isn't such an ultra tsundere. XD

Please read on ONLY if you can stomach MPREG birth scenes. Otherwise, I still do appreciate a review for the earlier parts of the chapter. Extra starts after the page break.

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CHAPTER EXTRA

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"Blood pressure?" - "Normal"

"Heart rate?" – "Normal"

"Breathing rate?" – "Normal"

"Fetal heart rate?" – "Normal"

A-Drei looked worriedly at his friend, who hadn't made a sound after he was brought to the medical bay, even with the medics bustling about him. The silver-haired teen was lying on his side, gripping his pillow tightly. He knew that, for the most part, L-Elf kept a tight lid on most of his emotions. He could still tell that, despite the lack of reaction on L-Elf's part, his friend was in pain, especially judging from the way L-Elf took in deep breaths before exhaling, a sign that he was trying to cope with it.

If the circumstances had allowed, there was no way A-Drei would let his friend go through this, or at least not here. L-Elf was a Regent, and his child too would be of royal blood. He was supposed to deliver his child in a comfortable, fully-equipped place, not a simple ward connected to the military base, tended to by medics instead of maternity specialists. L-Elf wasn't complaining though. On the contrary, he had been the one who insisted on being brought there, just in case they needed his assistance again for the mission.

The medics tending to him said that he had actually gone into the active phase of labour while he was still in the control room, and speculated that he was actually in a lot of pain when he was giving instructions to the strike team. He looked at his quieter-than-usual friend, who still had his back to everyone, with his shoulders hunched over, and gave an irritated sigh and shook his head. "Why do you always try to do everything by yourself?" The prince grumbled.

His stubborn friend gave a soft huff. "It's for the sake of the highest rate of success for the mission." He shifted on the bed and gave a stifled groan. "I want this-" a soft hiss escaped his lips before he continued, "-out of me!"

"That's…your mission now," A-Drei winced when his friend groaned. They used to help each other out during missions, having been trained from their days in the Academy to take care of severe injuries, even life threatening ones, and to prevent each other from bleeding themselves to death. This was completely out of his training though.

L-Elf gripped the sheets. When the next pang passed, he opened his eyes and asked abruptly. "Where is…Tokishima Haruto? What is his status now?"

A-Drei smiled. L-Elf was worried. Of course the silver-haired couldn't see the prince's expression since his back was to him. "Their mission is complete. They're on their way back."

L-Elf nodded slightly in acknowledgement of the report before shifting again, groaning at another drawn out contraction. It hurt more than any other injury he had ever encountered before. Even a bullet to the stomach paled in comparison to this. "I'm going to kill that guy when he gets back…" He muttered.

Pino was definitely on his list of least likeable Magius, in a different sort of way compared to Cain. To think she took all that liberty to toy with his body, even going as far as to create a way for his body to expel the parasite. It wasn't as convenient as a woman's, but enough to get the job done.

The child shifted abruptly, catching him unaware while he was still busy with a dark train of thought. He cried out despite himself, causing A-Drei to worry and fuss over him. "L-Elf, are you all right?" The prince asked.

Oh definitely, this whole experience was total peaches and sunshine… Thanks for asking, by the way...

"Do I look all right to you?" L-Elf bit out. Muttering under his breath about misbehaving Magius and brunettes who couldn't keep their desires in their pants, he shifted, trying to find a position that may lessen even an iota of the pain. A-Drei knew that he was not very successful in that mission when L-Elf kept shifting around.

With the exception of the medics tending to L-Elf whispering to each other about the Regent's progress, and L-Elf's sounds of discomfort, there was little sound as conversation was minimal between the two friends past that point. L-Elf continued to suffer, and aside from repeating words of encouragement, A-Drei could do little else.

When the door to the ward slid open again, L-Elf groaned into his pillow, then opened weary eyes to glare at whoever was intruding into his personal space. His eyes widened when he saw Tokishima Haruto standing before him. "H-how…?" He asked, unable to form a full sentence.

Haruto, for once, wasn't being the idiot he usually was, as he seemingly guessed what the silver-haired teen wanted to say. "The rest gave me all their cooling fins. The speed was more than what Pino can usually take, but I did promise that I'll never leave you to deal with this alone." He took L-Elf's hand. "I intend to keep that promise."

L-Elf groaned at the naïve words coming from the brunette's lips. "There is – nnh – nothing you can do – argh!" He tensed, his body straining as he felt the sudden urge to push.

Haruto's eyebrows knitted at the sound of pain rarely heard from the usually controlled Dorssian. He continued holding his lover's hand and turned to the medic. "I want to do something…anything…but I don't know what to do…" He admitted aloud.

The medic monitored L-Elf's progress. "Help him sit up. Also, rub his back to try to ease some of the pain." Haruto obeyed immediately. L-Elf slumped against him, too weakened from the pain to actually shove him away. "You suck at this…" he snarled weakly.

The medic held a towel between his parted legs. "Please push when I tell you to, your highness." A heartbeat later. "Now!"

L-Elf gave a pain-filled grunt and strained with all his might. He felt the breaching of something large leaving his body, and for a moment both uncertainty and fear clouded his purple orbs. This was unknown territory to him, and even he couldn't predict if he could complete this mission alive. He didn't fear death, but there would definitely be a huge damper to his plans if he wasn't part of any future equation because he didn't survive this experience.

The pressure built, to the point of being almost unbearable. A regular person would already be screaming profanities. L-Elf managed to keep his wits about him thanks to his years of military training, though he did feel traitorous tears gather in his eyes, as well as some wetness on his cheeks. He inhaled sharply, drawing in air and gathering his strength as he continued on with his task. Both Haruto and A-Drei continued to watch him closely, the former brushing L-Elf's silver hair, which was matted with sweat against his forehead, out of his face. The pressure lessened, and his mind supplied him with information that the head was out. Haruto noticed that too and continued muttering sweet, useless words to him.

When he felt another contraction, he grabbed Haruto's hand and bit down hard, drawing blood. He muffled his sounds against his stress reliever. It was Haruto who was yelping non-stop in pain instead. At transferring part of his suffering to the main culprit who put him in this condition in the first place, L-Elf felt sadistically better, and he pushed again. The shoulders of the newborn emerged, follow on by the rest of the baby, and the medic waiting on him eased the child out, wrapping it immediately in a towel.

There was a soft, choking sound, followed on by mewling, which grew steadily into the strong cries of a newborn baby. L-Elf exhaled, trying to recover from the effort. At that same moment, Haruto drew in a shaky breath at hearing his child. The child's carrier (or maternal parent, as far as the medics were concerned) loosened his death grip on Haruto's arm. The injuries on the artificial Magius' hand healed instantly. Haruto walked over to the medics when they were done recording the child's birth data, and reached out eagerly, taking the newborn into his arms.

There was a myriad of emotions on the brunette's face, both delight and uncertainty, as he tried to process the idea of being a new parent. L-Elf raised a hand. "Let me see her." He commanded, his tone lacking its usual strength.

Haruto obeyed, walking closer to L-Elf, though he did not pass the child to him yet. "L-Elf…we uh… we have a son…" His voice sounded tense.

L-Elf froze, his mind not quite sure as to how he should take that news. After a moment, with Haruto holding the baby in a protective gesture in case L-Elf showed signs of rejecting their son, L-Elf sighed. "Tokishima Haruto. I am not such a monster that I would harm a defenseless newborn." He held out his hands again. "Let me hold her…him…"

Haruto watched his expression closely, though he could not read him, as usual. He made a decision to trust L-Elf, passing the child over to his other parent. L-Elf instinctively held the child close, calming him. The baby dropped off to sleep in his arms, watched over by both new parents. L-Elf stroked a soft, warm cheek. Looking up, he met Haruto's gaze, and at meeting his eyes, Haruto threw him a soft, grateful smile. Turning back to look at the baby, L-Elf decided to put his planning for his next step off till later. For now, he too could use a good rest.

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END OF CHAPTER EXTRA

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