Rogue was skeptical of Sting's plan to have Christmas evening to themselves, but followed the blond's orders and gave their wound up toddler another candy cane. She could hardly keep from squirming when they opened presents, squealing with delight at the cat plush that Sting had picked out for her the month before.
The exceed got two gifts. A set of toy frogs for Frosch, and a new vest for Lector. Both were also given a packet of catnip, which they pretended didn't make them go crazy, as an apology for being expected to help manage Alex while she was in the midst of a sugar high. Naturally, they couldn't have any until after they'd helped with Alex, but the promise of catnip was a strong lure.
For as long as Sting had stayed in bed, Rogue would have been happy to say that his present was Sting getting up and hanging out by the tree while Alex played with her toy, sticking a new candy cane in his mouth for each one they gave her. But Sting promised he had something special, something secret, for Rogue that night.
"Your virginity?"
"If you'd like that too."
Good. Rogue hadn't offered again since Sting became pregnant. If the blond was done fretting over the possibility of losing the baby during a moment of passion, then they could finally consummate their relationship. They'd already been together for a decade, had a biological child, and were expecting another. It was beyond overdue.
Alex wasn't done with her candy cane yet, but Sting bit to pieces and began sucking on another.
"I think it's a Christmas miracle," Rogue decided.
Sting grinned. "The five of us being together?"
"No. Your being able to stomach all that sugar."
His grin fell only a moment. Then it occurred to Sting that, actually, that was a miracle. For the past two weeks his morning sickness had ranged from almost bearable to so severe he wanted to die. Only four days ago he'd struggled with even water. He'd managed to keep it down after a few hours, but not before the possibility had been raised that he might need to go to the hospital.
"I don't feel great, but I don't think I'm about to puke. Let's hope that holds up. Got anything good planned for dinner?"
"Nothing special. But if you're up for it, I can do something fancy."
Fancy-ish. On the assumption that Sting wouldn't be able to eat much, Rogue had skipped out on purchasing most standard Christmas staples. But they had a chicken. And potatoes and cranberries. And a couple different vegetables that he thought he might be able to mix up in a way to make them look interesting.
If he got started soon, he could even have a desert ready. A pie. He could bake it and then, while it cooled and the oven was still hot, get a chicken cooked.
"Don't go out of your way. We don't know for sure that I'll be able to eat it," Sting reminded him, giving his stomach an awkward rub. He was a little worried that touching his stomach might irritate it. And some paranoid part of him that had spawned from losing his first baby and only grown after the second worried that even that gentle touch might somehow harm the third.
"I'll keep tea on hand. And try not to eat too much sugar." Rogue leaned forward and gave Sting a kiss on the cheek. "No more candy canes. I don't want you to have a sugar crash before Alex does."
"But you don't care if I crash after her?"
Rogue grinned. "Well, even if that happens, I won't be stuck keeping her under control without you to help."
"You won't get my gift then either."
"It will still be there tomorrow. Leaving me on my own with Alex can never be undone."
He stood and brushed off his clothes, which had managed to pick up a few pine needles from their dying Christmas tree. It was good that Alex was a person and not a plant, because neither Sting nor Rogue had any idea how to care for those.
Sting, still laughing at his last comment, stayed on the floor and played with Alex, letting her lead him through the scenario she had created in which Lector was an evil guild master, and her daddy and new kitty had to overthrow him. Considering that they worked for Makarov, the two probably ought not to encourage a fantasy with such a villain. But then considering they used to work for Genma, neither of them wanted to press the notion that the master was always right.
They'd spent an awfully long time indulging Alex as she went through her stocking and rolled around on the floor with her new toy. Rogue found himself scrambling to get lunch ready while prepping for dinner, and called everyone over to eat during a reprieve in dinner prep.
It was Lector, not Sting, who set Alex in her highchair while Rogue set everyone's food on the table. So the blond hadn't totally abandon caution about too much activity. But he was up, and that was an improvement. Rogue decided not to comment, and instead gave Sting an encouraging smile when he handed the boy his lunch, complete with ginger tea.
"Do I need this? I don't feel awful."
"You said you don't feel great either, right? Drink it. It can only help."
Ginger tea and water had been the only things Sting had to drink for the past two weeks, and he made a face at the mug, but obliged. Rogue was putting a lot of work into a last minute dinner that they didn't think he would have been able to eat, and if the tea would help ensure that Rogue's efforts didn't go to waste, then he would take it.
Sting slowed down on the candy, conscious of the fact that he needed to be in a state where he could appreciate Rogue's efforts. After all, for someone who loathed cooking, Rogue made a lot of special meals for him. An hour before dinner, he cut off Alex's supply of candy canes too. She still squirmed when it was time for her to go into her highchair, though. She'd hardly stopped moving all afternoon. Once or twice, she'd even got Sting to move fast. Someone had to catch her when she misjudged a jump from one couch to the next.
Rogue gave her a few fine chopped pieces of chicken and veggies, and a plate of mashed potatoes that made Sting, the one who usually washed Alex, grimace. Only half of that would make it into her mouth. The rest he would be scrubbing out of her hair before they got her to bed.
Seeing Sting's face fall, Lector waved for him to look away. "We have her after dinner. You shouldn't worry about her."
"Fro thinks so too."
Well… he did worry a little about Frosch looking after his daughter, but Lector more or less knew what to do.
Sting turned his focus to his own food, and his stomach did a flip looking at it. Cranberry sauce was drizzled over the potato. The vegetable he now saw was a stir-fried mix of various leafy greens with sauteed garlic tossed in. And while Alex had been given a piece of plain white chicken, his and Rogue's meat had some sort of sauce glazed over it that, from scent, would be mildly spicy.
If Sting hadn't been pregnant, he was sure it would have smelled heavenly.
But it didn't smell so bad to his pregnant nose that he had to rush to the bathroom to vomit, and Rogue had worked hard on this dinner. And it had been too long since he had a real meal. Sting plastered on a smile for his lover and took a bite of the chicken. "I'm always amazed by how you can make stuff like this in so little time."
"It took half the day."
"It would take me years to make anything this good."
"Well, I've had years of practice." The smile Rogue returned Sting's with was genuine. "But I'm glad you like it."
Sting forced himself to swallow, and drank the new cup of ginger tea that Rogue had set out for him without needing to be prompted.
The pie, which Rogue had pulled out of the oven not too long before dinner, had cooled to a decent temperature by the time Sting finished off the chicken and greens, by which point Rogue was well done with his own dinner. He gave Sting a hesitant once over, assessing him for obvious illness, then shrugged and set the pie on the table before looking for a knife to cut it with. He made the darn thing. Even if Sting looked like he was struggling, he was keeping everything down so far. And should Sting decide not to eat anymore, Rogue at least was going to enjoy it.
But when he turned back, he saw that Sting's eating had picked back up. The potatoes and cranberry, it seemed, were easier on him.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that baby only lets you keep your food when you keep it supplied with sugar."
"That wouldn't be awful. You can pick up a stock of candy canes when they go on sale."
"Careful. Jellal overdid it on the sweets when he was pregnant, and he said that Kiseki never stopped moving because of it."
"Bull."
"Alex certainly felt more active whenever I had something with too much sugar in it."
"Well… that's just fine," Sting decided. "I want to feel this baby. As much as possible. I want them to squirm and kick and do cartwheels so I know they're alright."
"True. And it means you should be able to manage the pie."
Sting laughed at that. "You don't want your work to go to waste, do you? Alright. Cut me a slice."
It was apple, and Rogue had been generous with the cinnamon while putting it together. He waited to watch Sting take a bite, and smile, before trying it himself.
"I seriously need to learn to cook. I want to treat you like this."
"Just so long as you practice at… at the guild."
He'd almost said to practice at Natsu's. The two had wordlessly agreed when they got back together that it would be best to do as little with Natsu as possible. The fire slayer had made this easy, since he'd been as keen on avoiding Rogue as Rogue was him. Maybe if their relationship had fallen apart the usual way. Too many different interests or values. They hadn't been a perfect couple. They never reached the point where they were comfortable enough with one another that they no longer stressed over pleasing the other. But things between them hadn't been bad. The only issue, really, was that Sting hadn't been willing to give Rogue up without a fight. And even if Natsu backed out of the battle eventually, it hadn't been because he was no longer in love. Fighting for Rogue, and losing battles, had left too many wounds on his heart. Surrendering completely, Rogue noticed, also hadn't healed them as fast as Natsu hoped.
Avoiding him had initially been a courtesy, but it had become a habit. For the two of them to talk with him now felt awkward. They'd chosen to go back to how things were, as much as they could. The two of them together, and Natsu an outsider they respected. Natsu was more sentimental than that. Rogue had seen the souvenirs he collected. He didn't doubt there was still something from every date they went on still saved in Natsu's house, even if Natsu had moved on to a new girlfriend.
"You have to practice at the guild. If you burn the apartment down, Alex will have to sleep on the streets."
"Just because I always burn the food doesn't mean I wreck the whole kitchen."
"The more times you try, the more chances you'll have." Rogue grinned so Sting could know he was only teasing.
"The more times I'll have to get better at not burning things."
"Sting, I can set a toaster up for you, and when you put bread in and push the button, it comes out black."
"Oh… I didn't realize I was supposed to use your settings."
That explained a lot.
"Well, it looks like Alex is ready to lay down," Rogue said. "I'll get her to bed. And then I believe you had a special gift for me?"
"Oh! Right!" Sting took another bite of the pie before standing so fast he knocked his chair over. "It's in our room. Don't come in until I say it's ready. No peeking."
"Yes, sir."
While Sting actually scrambled down the hall like his old self to set up whatever surprise he must have hidden months ago, Rogue lifted Alex out of her chair and carried her back to her room. She still slept in a crib. Once Sting's baby was born, if it was born, they would graduate her to a kiddie bed, and the baby would have her old crib. They would probably need to find a new house too. Unless they wanted the newborn and what would then be a three year old sharing a bedroom.
Alex was asleep before her mashed potato covered head hit the pillow. Rogue ushered Frosch and Lector into her room to take care of the potato and watch over her, then went across the hall to knock on his own bedroom door.
"One second!"
Rogue counted to one, then opened the door.
Perhaps he shouldn't have harassed Sting that way. The blond started when the door opened, fumbling and nearly falling off the bed. Wouldn't it just be perfect for Sting to hurt himself on his first day or not acting paranoid about causing any harm to his child?
"When I say 'one second' what I really mean is I need another minute."
"You should have said 'one minute' in that case," Rogue said, looking around the room.
Sting had decorated awfully fast. Green and red streamers, which had probably appealed to him because of their gaudy bright colors, were taped up everywhere. Even if they'd joked about tonight being the night they finally did it, that was a total mood killer. But the way he grinned, looking so pleased with himself as he secured the last streamer, Rogue dared not remind Sting that they had vastly different tastes in decorations.
The blond slid down from the bed and reached under with his foot, dragging out a box that was marked off as containing old letters Rogue had written to Sting. Those letters had included bad poems and cheesy, heartfelt confessions that Rogue had used to assure Sting that he really did care in the early stages of their relationship, back when he didn't know how to say "I love you" to Sting's face, and before Sting knew how to pick those three words up from Rogue's actions, even when they went unsaid.
Since the letters meant so much to Sting, Rogue had refrained from looking at them. If he read those mortifying words, he wasn't sure he could be trusted not to set the whole stack of pages on fire.
Thankfully, Sting had deliberately mislabeled the box. He kicked it open to reveal… another box. This one painted bright red and gold, and tied with a bow.
"Can you pull that out?" Sting asked. "My stomach's been good all day. I'd hate to upset it by bending down…"
Rogue pulled the box out of the box and set it on the bed, waiting for Stings nod of approval before undoing the ribbon and opening his present.
Chocolate. White and milk and dark chocolates with frosting, decorated in all manner of shape. One looked like Frosch. Another like a dragon. Some were simple hearts. Beneath the sweetness, Rogue could smell hints that a few of the pieces might have been burnt. A few, but not all, which meant…
"You made these?"
Sting nodded.
"Thanks you. It must have taken a lot of practice."
"I got Mira to come over and help when you went away to work. It took all day."
"Good thing you seem to have a high tolerance for sugar, then."
Realizing what would have happened had his morning sickness prevented him from making the sweets, Sting paled. They were on a tighter budget while he didn't work and made Rogue look after Alex, and he'd set nothing aside to buy a present last minute should his plans have failed.
Rogue chuckled. "Mind if I try one now?"
"Well, the point of chocolate is that you eat it."
Popping one of the hearts into his mouth, Rogue closed the box and retied the ribbon, setting the rest on his nightstand for later.
"I'm going to get better at cooking," Sting declared. "I know you said you'd rather not have me burn down the house or poison everyone with smoke, or waste food, but I want to be able to make some of the nice things for you that you always prepare for me."
"I'd better get back to work then, shouldn't I? It's cheaper to buy things in bulk, but we're still going to burn through a lot of food."
"Was… was that a pun?"
"Uh…" Rogue blushed, going back over his word. "No pun intended."
Sting laughed and gave Rogue a kiss, stealing a taste of the chocolate when he did. It wasn't as good as Rogue's homemade desserts, but it wasn't awful. Rogue, at least, tasted better than any sweet.
"I'm going to treat you," Sting insisted. "For all the times you treated me, and for how wonderful you've been this past month, even after how I…" How I turned you away when you were pregnant… "Well, we made it a month. The baby's still here. I wouldn't want to take any jobs, but I should be able to do more around the house. So since I'm not able to help with work, I'm going to make everything special for you at home. Okay?"
Rogue kissed back, biting gently at Sting's lip and leaving a chocolate smear when he pulled away. "You don't have to push yourself."
"But you don't like cooking, right?"
"No. But I like to make you smile."