Natalie and Minato gently and carefully land the hoverboards on the Royal Family's courtyard along with the former King and Queen of Noursaia in tow,
"It almost feels a bit nostalgic." Queen Noi happily mutters while she casually steps off of the board right before Minato kicks it upward.
"You were the previous queen of this castle after all." The blonde revels before he presses the button to collapse the board to the disk form.
A smile materializes on her face at the comment right before she spots her husband instantly extends his arm out for her, which she graciously accepts.
His obsidian eyes watch in awe at the couple's natural interaction with each other. That one simple action openly displays their deep love for one another.
A "whack" on the back of his head breaks him out of his intense focus on the pair when he realizes that it was none other than Natalie, who is the culprit.
"Hey, what was that for?!" The young man was curiously inquiring while rubbing the back of his head to ease the throbbing pain with one of his hands.
"You were thinking about useless things since you were distracted." She calmly retorts as she rests her right hand on the right side of her hip when she speaks to him.
Before the knight could verbally counter, she promptly cuts him off, "Besides…aren't you just a little anxious to see the new additions to the Royal family?"
Happiness dazzles in his eyes after he overhears the reason why Natalie insists on a shortcut back to the castle.
"What is it?" The solider questions him once she notices that he stares at her with a weird expression on his face.
"Sometimes I tend to forget that even you are human…" Her childhood friend teases her while he unknowingly reveals to her that he is somewhat knowledgeable about her past.
'Does he know about my past?' The young woman wonders to herself.
The captain then feels Minato loops his arm through hers and proceeds to drag her behind Lao and Noi.
"Let's go see our godchildren." The blonde emphasizes the pronoun "our" in his statement with a toothy grin present on his face.
Natalie ultimately decides to go with the flow and mutters a quiet "Yeah" underneath her breath while she matches his stride.
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"Why if it isn't the Avatar?" An unknown feminine voice speaks up once Jordan finally passes by the main entrance of the castle.
Jordan halts in the middle of his stride, rotates his head in the direction of the voice, and identifies them as none other than the former King and Queen of Noursaia, Lao and Noi.
"What a pleasant surprise!" Noi adds as she smiles at him with her arm still attach to her beloved husband.
"The same can be said for you as well." He politely retorts with a false smile on his face since he was in no mood to socialize.
However, all of that changed once his eyes landed on the beautiful raven haired woman with bright green eyes that stood behind them.
'Natalie,' His brain almost immediately registers, exactly who the woman is once she steps inside of the castle.
Queen Noi's observant personality senses the tension that rapidly develops between the Avatar and Minato upon the pair's arrival.
Green eyes stare hard at the golden figure as well before the duo take their leave from him without so much as an exchange of a "hello" or a "goodbye".
"If the Avatar doesn't mind, we are needed elsewhere." The former queen civilly excuses both her and her husband as a means to avoid being a witness to a potential confrontation.
"It was nice to see you again, Queen Noi and King Lao." The intergalactic dignitary waves the pair off while he tries to curb the anger from his tone after the sight he just sees.
'You better cherish this little time that you have with her you blonde haired twit because that's all going to change really soon.' He silently vows as he casually watches them until they disappear down the hall.
Noi was deep in thought about the incident a few seconds ago when she weighs to herself, 'Was this the reason why Minato felt he couldn't make any progress?'
'I think I am starting to understand his plight a little bit better now.'
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Aikka continues to dutifully watch over his precious wife.
She fell fast asleep after the long strenuous hours of natural birth to three beautiful and healthy children.
A maid softly knocks on the door and captures the king's attention, "King Aikka, your mother and father are on their way to the see the new princes and princess."
"Tell them that we will join them if and when Eva wakes up from her nap." He whispers loud enough for the maid to hear him.
She nods her head to signal that she receives the message loud and clear before she disappears from in front of his door.
"You are such a horrible whisperer." Eva tiredly complains with her eyes close as she slowly rotates her head closer toward Aikka's chest.
"My parents will be here to see the little ones' soon." The Noursaian whispers to his wife after he turns his attention on to her.
"Wake me when it is time for dinner." The raven haired with crimson tips orders when she rests her hand on his torso where his chest cavity stores his heart.
Aikka lovingly runs his hands through her red hair until he realizes that she dozes off once again due to fatigue.
'My parents can wait a little while longer.'
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The quad, that consisted of King Lao, Queen Noi, Minato and Natalie, eventually arrived at the well-guarded baby room.
"State rank and name." The guard demands since it was customary for visitors, who wants to see any one of the Royal Family to have some sort of status.
"Former King and Queen of Noursaia, Lao and Noi to present King Aikka," King Lao declares both him and his wife's status to the guard.
"Captain of the 245th battalion of the Royal military, Natalie Andros," Natalie recites her title to the guards.
"Knight of the Round and Royal Family Guardsman, Minato," Minato declares his position to the guard, who dutifully bows his head at his superior officer.
The guard then steps off to the side and permits the four to enter inside of the Infirmary where the new heirs to the throne have been sleeping.
"I'm so excited to see my new grandbabies." Noi comments while she tugs her arm, which is still hook around her husband's arm.
"I can tell your excited from the way that you yanked at my arm." Lao teasingly quips as he follows alongside his wife.
Queen Noi did not provide a response but instead flashes him a big smile and utters, "Grandbabies,"
"Hey…" Minato speaks up since he wants to converse with Natalie, "thanks for the save back there. I would've been a pancake if you didn't help me out."
She leisurely rotates her head in his direction and remarks, "You're welcome."
"Look...I feel like there is some awkwardness between us after what happen so if it makes you feel uncomfortable you don't have to force yourself…" He starts to ramble since he feels nervous until Natalie cuts him off with, "You tend to ramble whenever you're nervous."
"There is no awkwardness between us but rather there is a sense of newness to all of this." The young woman expresses her honest opinion about the situation they are in.
"Why don't we just take baby steps?" The blonde suddenly suggests before the solider continues to advance further.
"Sheesh, you really are a spineless idiot." The captain irritably huffs while she walks further ahead of him but far enough away from Aikka's parents.
For some strange reason, Minato cracks a smile since it is their special way they communicate with each other.
'I guess I chipped away at that hard Iron shell of hers.'
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Jordan aimlessly ventures around the castle grounds since he is not bless with the title of the Royal Family to visit the newborns.
'I always seemed to strike out with the women that I really want.'
'Eva has Aikka and Natalie has…'
'Why are you thinking such nonsense?'
'You're an Intergalactic Authority that governs over all of the universes and galaxies known and unknown to mankind.'
'A simple woman like Eva or Natalie Andros shall not be your unfolding.'
'Your plan is still in motion and has yielded excellent results. Why give up when you are almost there?'
'Humph, I almost had a moment of weakness?'
'That is why I am your consciousness. What would you do without me?'
A sly smile stretches across his face once he surfaces from his inner monologue with his conscious.
'All that's left is to get rid of two annoying thorns in my side and then I can marvel as the beautiful rose bud blooms before my very own eyes.'
He then redirects his feet to the front entrance when he realizes what time it is.
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Aikka overhears more footsteps draw closer to him and his wife.
He inwardly considers, 'I wonder who it will be this time?'
They already had a handful of family as well as extended family visit the triplets even when they did not receive the official announcement of their birth.
Then again, he was grateful to have such a caring and loving family as his plus his own little family.
The door slowly shifts forward until there was enough room for a head to peak through when a pair of familiar eyes stare back at him.
If Eva was not peacefully asleep on his chest then he would have greeted his mother, who quietly slipped inside of the room.
His eyes closely watch as his mom reads the mood around them, nods her head, and points in the direction of where the newborns might be.
His father soon enters along with Minato and Natalie, the godparents to five of their children for now.
Aikka's mother serves as the guide to their next destination.
The sound of light snores from his wife capture his attention to his current purpose at the moment and that is to comfort Eva.
The Noursaian gently brushes aside a stubborn stray strand of hair when his wife promptly nestles against his chest.
'I wish that your father could see the woman, the wife, and the mother that you've become.'
'I am more than confident that he's proud of you.'
Another knock can be heard from behind the door as a maid appeared in front of his eyes to broadcast the message, "King Aikka…lunch will be served in a few minutes."
"Thank you but please bring a small tray of food. The queen isn't quite ready to leave the Infirmary just yet." The king issues a set of orders to the maid.
"Yes, sir," She consents to the instructions and disappears just as quickly as she appears.
'I'll find a way to tell Don Wei about the new arrivals.' Aikka silently promises to his wife as he gently kisses her forehead.
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Author's Note:
12.13.16 Major editing revision
04.10.17 Minor editing revision