Lullaby Child - Chapter 2

A couple weeks had passed, by now Demyx was now 14 weeks and officially 3 and a half months pregnant. But he appeared to be a little further than that since he was carrying twins as opposed to one baby. His body size had a little bit to do with it as well, since he was so lean the signs of pregnancy were a little more obvious than they would have been on another person at his stage. Plus he knew in another week or two he would find out the genders of his unborn babies.1

Right now he was spending some much deserved time with Xigbar, considering he felt somewhat guilty for not doing so earlier that week. Demyx knew that he shouldn’t have been avoiding his older lover, but he also knew that missions and some pre baby discussions with Marluxia sometimes took time away from them. He didn’t want to feel guilty about forgetting Xigbar for long though.2

“You feeling better now? Vexen made sure that the potion he made up would work for awhile until the morning sickness had passed.” Xigbar asked as he moved his arms around the shorter male’s waist. He was happy to feel the baby bump under his hands, knowing that there were actually two babies inside his lover instead of one.3

“Better than the other day, yeah. I’m glad he came up with that potion, and it doesn’t taste that bad either.” Demyx smiled, putting his hands over Xigbar’s arms. He knew that very soon his stomach would get bigger, and the babies would start kicking and stretching. They probably already were, but he couldn’t really feel anything just yet. He was just more excited now than he had been a few weeks earlier.4

“That’s good. Did you have anything in mind for today? Like go anywhere special, or just stay here and see what’s going on with Marluxia? You know he’s been acting strange lately.” Xigbar spoke. Well to him, the other was always a little bit strange. But he didn’t want to make Demyx cry by thinking he was insulting his friend. That wouldn’t have boded well for him at all.5

“I’m sure Marly will tell us soon enough. I have a place in mind though; I don’t know how you’d like it. You don’t strike me as a big water fan.” Demyx smiled, holding Xigbar’s hand lightly. He was a little hesitant, but he figured the place he had in mind would do some good for them both and he could always show Marluxia and Vexen later.6

“Where is it… Oh, no… not Atlantica. Dem… you know I hate the singing. And that mermaid annoys me. The last time I had a mission there, I made it a point to make it a quick one.” Xigbar protested, but then saw the look on the blonde’s face. Why did he have to fall for the aqua green puppy dog eyes?7

“Xiggy… please? Marly showed me his world, and I want to show you mine. Well I guess not exactly mine, but you found me near there. I remember.” Demyx smiled, looking up at his scarred lover. He’d get Xigbar to go there one way or another, even if it meant dragging the taller all the way there through a portal.8

Xigbar just nodded, reluctantly agreeing with Demyx on his choice of an outing location. He sighed softly, putting an arm around his blonde lover’s waist. Might as well do this and get it over with. And in the process make Demyx as happy as he’s been in awhile, which was a very good thing.9

“Thank you. I promise we won’t be gone long.” Demyx smiled before he opened a portal, hoping that changing forms wouldn’t be too stressful for him or the babies. Then again he might just have a streamlined shape like a dolphin, or shark. Or even an orca, he wouldn’t really know until they actually arrived.10

“I know. Just promise me that you won’t join Sebastian and break into song?” Xigbar smirked as he followed his shorter lover into the portal. Maybe the short trip wouldn’t be too bad after all, especially if no one sang. Then again… they always sang. There went his plans for sanity.11

“Ariel, wait up!” Flounder protested, swimming as fast as he could behind his friend. He hated it when something got Ariel’s attention and he had to try and keep up with her. Of course Sebastian was clinging to his tail, so that made it a little bit worse for the yellow and blue striped fish.12

“Hurry up Flounder! I have a good feeling about today.” Ariel smiled before she swam toward the reef. She wasn’t entirely out of the boundary of Atlantica, but she was still contemplating it. Especially if her friend was out there. Why she had a good feeling, she didn’t know for certain.13

Flounder sighed as he swam faster after his friend, only to run head on into the tail of something. He blinked a few times, seeing a scarred orca in front of him but then it was also half man. His eyes went wide and he swam rather quickly behind Ariel, shaking like a leaf.14

“Ariel… there is something over there! It was weird... and this big!” Flounder spoke, holding out his fins for emphasis. He may have been exaggerating a little, but he was still scared of the new thing. Whatever it was.15

“Don’t be silly. You’re just exaggerating again.” Ariel spoke before she swam over to where Flounder saw this giant creature. She stopped for a moment, seeing the same scarred creature that her friend saw. She also saw a familiar merman next to him, only with the tail of a Mako shark. Then she smiled and moved faster over to the two.16

“Ariel? It’s good to see you!” Demyx smiled, moving to hug his red headed friend. He almost laughed as he saw Flounder hiding behind her. Nothing had changed about this place at all; it was still the same serene undersea landscape. The only thing that had really changed was his pregnancy, which was pretty much it. Everything else was the same for him.17

“Demyx, long time no see. Apparently a very long time. What’s going on?” Ariel asked as she hugged her blond friend. She barely noticed his stomach except for when she hugged him, but she shrugged it off. She was just so happy to see her friend that she didn’t think much about his changing form.18

“The usual. How have you been? You haven’t changed a bit.” Demyx spoke, the smile not leaving his face. He was trying to debate if he should tell her, or have her swim off in fear and reject him for having twins. Twins… I still can’t believe it. He thought a wistful look on his face.19

“I’ve been good. You’ve changed though. And you didn’t have your scarred friend with you either. So tell me what’s going on. Pull up a coral, we have all day. Sebastian isn’t planning a concert for a few hours.” Ariel smiled, not wanting to miss a word her friend said.20

Sebastian huffed and skittered between the two merfolk, crossing his claws and looked up at both Ariel and Demyx. He didn’t care for reunions, he wanted the younger mermaid to practice her singing for the supposedly great concert he was going to hold, but it wouldn’t be one if Ariel was absent.21

“Ariel, you should be practicing. You can talk to your friends later.” Sebastian started before he scurried off back toward the palace, but he did manage a nod toward the two men before he went back to King Triton.22

“But… alright, Sebastian. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Ariel started, looking at Demyx with an apologetic expression on her face. She didn’t really want to miss the practice, but she also wanted to spend time with her friend too. Maybe he’d stay for a little while longer so he could tell her his good news.23

“I’m afraid we have to be going too. I just wanted to say that I’m pregnant… but we can talk more later. I don’t want your father to be upset with you, or Sebastian for that matter.” Demyx laughed before he swam up to Xigbar who had been relatively calm for once.24

Ariel looked at Demyx in shock before she swam off after Sebastian. Was it true, or was it even possible for that matter? She shrugged it off for now and looked at Flounder with the same shocked and confused expression on her face. The young mermaid swam off, knowing she would definitely be thinking about it for quite a long time after this.25

“What did he just say? Ariel wait up!” Flounder started, but he’d worry about how it was possible later on. He had to catch up with Ariel before she left him in a flurry of bubbles again, especially out in the open where sharks could easily snatch him up if they wanted to.26

Xigbar managed a smile toward his smaller lover before he opened up a portal to head back to the castle. He knew the other needed his rest more than anything, that and he wanted to see if anything was going on with Marluxia. Especially since he had been concerned for the other man’s welfare after seeing how weird he had been acting for the last couple weeks or so.27

“I don’t believe it… I mean its right there, I just don’t believe it.” Vexen started, muttering to himself before he heard a portal open up behind him. He turned and faced Xigbar and Demyx, his concerned look still placed firmly on his features. The blond tried to not let his current worries get in the way of taking care of Demyx and checking on him and the growth of his unborn babies. He had finally procured an ultrasound machine so he could conduct them in his lab instead of having to bring mothers to be all the way to Twilight Town.28

“What’s wrong Vexen?” Xigbar asked as he led Demyx over to the table, figuring the older male was upset because he skipped out on the appointment. Or something much worse, he didn’t know. Then again it wasn’t the kind of upset he thought it would be if it was something like missing the thirteen week appointment and now it was 14 weeks.29

“Oh, it’s nothing. Well nothing serious anyway. Now let’s get you situated Demyx so I can check on your unborn babies.” Vexen replied, letting Demyx hop up on the table before he moved the other’s shirt back carefully once he lay back. He turned on the machine, soon putting the gel on Demyx’s stomach. It was a little colder than usual, but only because of the temperature he kept his lab at. That and because he was an ice elemental.30

“Does it have to be so cold Vexy?” Demyx asked before he looked at the screen. He knew that the other couldn’t help it; it was just a little too chilly for his liking. He remained quiet while he watched what the other was doing, and then he saw two forms on the monitor. The smile didn’t leave his lips once; those were his babies lying there.31

Vexen just smiled before he stopped the probe, looking at the screen carefully while he made sure he charted the development of the two babies growing inside the younger male. It was still far too early to tell the genders, but they were quite healthy. Plus both were a good size for only 14 weeks along.32

“Sorry, IX. The good news? They are very healthy. You can see the head here, and the other is facing down. It could change over the next 26 weeks though, so I’ll keep checking you for anything that might warrant a c-section. You more than likely won’t make it the entire forty week gestation, considering you are having twins.” Vexen spoke, moving the probe a little more.33

“In English, Vexen. I know we can’t see the gender yet, but what else can you tell about the babies?” Xigbar started, before he saw Marluxia appearing out of a dark portal from the corner of his eye. Didn’t the younger man know this wasn’t a good time? Or was it something rather dire?34

“Demyx may end up having the babies earlier than the usual 40 weeks. Twins rarely make it that long, 36 is ideal if we want to aim for that…. Mar? What are you doing here?” Vexen asked, watching Marluxia come up behind him with a smile on his face. He was holding something in his hand, but he was afraid to look at it.35

“Aww… those are the babies? No one told me that Demmy was having his ultrasound today. Anyway, I have something for you Vexen. Just take a good look at this plant and you’ll see what I’m trying to say to you.” Marluxia smiled, handing Vexen a small potted plant that was a cluster of three plants in various sizes. Plus a very tiny one just starting to come out from under the dirt.36

Vexen raised an eyebrow, then looked at the plant. Soon redirecting his attention back to the assassin that was standing across from him. How could he have missed the signs? The fatigue, the sleeping constantly… and the moodiness. But their daughter was barely four months old, so they obviously didn’t plan well enough for another child. The bright side, she’d be a year old in a few months.37

“You’re…” Vexen started, before he hugged Marluxia gently. He didn’t know if he was for sure. He kissed the other on the forehead before going back to Demyx and cleaning up the gel from the younger male’s stomach.38

“He’s what?” Demyx asked, looking at Marluxia and Vexen. He tilted his head cutely before leaning against Xigbar once he sat up. He wanted to know what was wrong with his friend, and it would bug him until someone actually told him something.