#bc Aili and her vhenan are having a Moment

[lillotte17]

@feynites said: *sends mental image of babies falling asleep on uthvirs*

It is a warm lazy afternoon, and the triplets and Virevas are all about ten months old. They are all beginning to settle into their new home, and their new life. Although it is not too different from the way they had been living at the Hidden Estate.

Aili returns from a quick trip to the market in town to a relatively quiet house. Uthvir and Mealla have gone to Daran for a few brief meetings about the new security measures around Mana'Din's palace, and discussions on training for some of their newer agents. And Lavellan is visiting with Pride, which she has mixed feelings about. Lavellan was already grown by the time she became a part of her family, but she is still protective of her welfare, and while he is not evil, per se, her chosen paramour is…dangerous. Aili would prefer to keep him well away from all of them, but she can respect the fact that Lavellan is old enough to be making her own decisions about her love life.

It doesn't mean she has to like it, however.  

There are sounds of loud delighted squealing and vigorous splashing that leads her to believe that Thenvunin is in the process of attempting to bathe at least two of the children. And by the sounds of the voices she can hear, one of them is likely Ardal, which means he has his work cut out for him. She considers joining him immediately and seeing if he needs an extra pair of hands, but she is still wearing some light armor and a few concealed blades about her person, and she should probably remove them before handling anyone with soft delicate baby skin.

Her bedroom is simple, but airy; done over in cool blues and soft creams and accents in bronze. There are three large sunny windows enchanted to look out over the paddock for the halla back at the Hidden Estate. A large meadow full of wildflowers surrounded by tall trees and distant mountains. All of her furniture is curved and organically shaped, with touches of delicate leaf and floral patterns here and there. Not a harsh color or sharp corner in sight. The entire space seems to radiate an aura of calm.  

And when she opens the door to her room on this day, she is met with the sight of Vhenan lounging in something of a small pillow fortress they have built across the expanse of her bed, with a baby tucked securely under each arm. Einin and Oisin, curled against the warm bare skin of their nanae's chest, sleeping soundly. They have their own bedroom, of course, but they tend to only use it for their Deep Sleeps, and the storage of anything that could potentially be hazardous to infants. So, they end up sleeping with her more often than not. Usually with at least one of their children nestled between them, safe and cozy.      

She smiles warmly, trailing silent footsteps into the room, and doing her best to remove the outer layers of her gear without making too much noise. She doubts that Uthvir is truly sleeping, though their eyes are closed at the moment. However, the scene is such a lovely one that it seems almost a crime to intrude on it.  After all they have been through, the suffering and separation, and being lost to one another in almost every way they could be, to see them here, like this, in their own home, with their own children, is…miraculous. More than she had ever truly let herself hope for.

When she is down to her soft layers, she walks closer to the bed, moving a few pillows over so that she can slide onto the mattress beside them. A serene sort of happiness suffuses the air around her, as she reaches over to brush a few strands of hair back from Uthvir's face. They blink open their eyes to look at her, and she is caught for a moment, as she still is sometimes, by the bright sky blue of their gaze. Still expecting brown, after all these years.

"Have they had their lunch yet?" Aili asks quietly, carefully pulling Einin into her arms as she snuggles in beside them.

"About a half an hour ago," Nightmare confirms, "It seemed to make these two sleepy, but Ardal began throwing his sweet potatoes at one point, and then Virevas followed suit with her mashed peas. So, Thenvunin decided that he should clean them off before trying to put them down for a nap."

"It did sound like there was a lot of ruckus going on in there," Aili hums, "Should I go lend him a hand?"

"They are having fun," they reply, "No one is worried or upset. Although, I suspect Thenvunin is likely fussing about something or another, as that is his usual state of being. Stay here with me. I have two children to wrangle as well, you know."

"Does he really not need the help, or are you just angling for a bit of alone time?" Aili wonders with a faint grin.

"It cannot be both?" Uthvir wonders with the beginnings of a smirk, reaching their free hand over and pulling the tie off the end of her braid. Carefully unravelling it until her hair is tumbling across her shoulders in long golden waves. "Not that we are precisely alone at the moment."

"As close to it as we are likely to be for a long while," Aili replies with a pleased sigh, pressing a light kiss into the dark red curls on her little daughter's head.

Vhenan hums in agreement, seeming content to simply lay there with her and two of their children, slowly running fingers through her hair. She studies their face for a moment, pensive, as she sometimes is when they actually catch a moment to breathe. They have all endured such hardship to reach this place, this peace, and yet she is not entirely certain…

"Are you happy?" Aili asks in a low whisper, "I mean… I can tell that you aren't especially upset by this turn of events, and I know that you love all of our children, but… We never really talked about…any of this. Having children and essentially moving to the country. I always knew I wanted to be with you, marry you if I could, but even though I wanted it, I thought that hoping for children would be too much. So, I never mentioned it."

"I had my suspicions," they admit, shifting close enough to nuzzle their nose into her hair a little, "Your desires have always been a bit…transparent."

Aili makes a face at them.

"It is one of your most endearing qualities, I assure you," Uthvir smirks, "Although, it did cause some me concern here and there over the years. Since there seemed to be such a high chance of discovery. None of it seemed capable of convincing me that you were not worth the risk, however."

She leans in a bit to press a kiss against their lips for that.

"It did sort of end in disaster, or at least…it seemed like it had. For a long time. I'm not certain I would change anything though, given the current outcome," Aili sighs. "And you didn't really answer my question. Did you want this at all? Are you happy?"

"I am always happy to be where you are," they tell her with enough frankness that color rises in her cheeks, "I…never really considered having children, in the time before. I did not think I would be a particularly good parent, given my background. And Andruil's palace would not have been a safe place to raise them, even if she had miraculously granted us permission. Just being with you was almost more than I had dared to dream of. To find a person who would accept me so completely, even with all I might be lacking… I wanted it, but I did not truly think it would happen. And when it did, wishing for anything more almost seemed…selfish. Greedy. As if we might be punished for taking more than our share. ...Perhaps we were."

They close their eyes, and press their nose into the curve of her neck, breathing her in deep.

"When you were gone… When I could no longer feel your heart attached to mine, my only wish was to have you back," they breathe out against her skin, "But when you placed Mealla in my arms that first night… I knew she was ours, confused as I was, and I never wanted to let her go. It is a little overwhelming, at times, to be a parent, but I would not give it up. I would not exchange it for anything else I might gain. And when we learned about the new babies, I was worried for you, but excited to meet them, too. Our children are a small, glorious horde."

"Then…you are happy?" Aili presses, running her free hand down their side to squeeze at their hip at little. Tender and just the tiniest bit possessive.

"Entirely," they hum in reply, shifting their arm a bit when Oisin makes a slight sound of discomfort in his sleep.

"Good,"Aili says with a deep relieved sigh, curling into them further and tangling their legs together just a bit, "I am too."    

#Aili lavellan #uthvir #Clusterfuck AU #clusterfuck triplets #fic #the sharp one likes your shine! #poor thenvunin has been abandoned to the Loud Children #bc Aili and her vhenan are having a Moment #oops #>_> #Aili will likely go help eventually #especially if it sounds like Ardal and Vir are being extra wiggly #but he probably likes getting some alone time with them too