WHO: Libera & Honos WHEN: Friday WHAT: Hey baby, wanna knock me up? WARNINGS: pregnancy talk
For about two weeks Libera had felt down about the death of her granddaughter. The whole thing had hit her hard - as few things ever did - and for a goddess so eternally carefree and funloving, two weeks was practically a lifetime. Perhaps to others it would have seemed like she didn't care, but Libera always cared. She just processed things like grief at lightning speed.
But with so much of her thoughts in the past, the wine goddess couldn't help but remember how much she'd loved having little Aurelia around, raising her and watching her grow. She watched pregnant women in the street with more consideration than before and she rubbed a hand across her own flat stomach longingly. A baby. Libera wanted another baby of her very own, another girl preferably. Although... not that she'd mind a son. A boy could be nice to raise as well.
There was a lot to think about and surely she should have given it more time to think in, but Libera wasn't one for weighing the options and weighing the pros and cons. Libera was a doer not a thinker.
So while she got a morning pedicure done from her favourite place, she pulled out her pink-and-gold phone and sent a text to Honos. That spot in central park where I almost stole that woman's chiwawa (sp??) last year - meet me there at about 12?? Libera then slipped the phone back into her handbag and looked down to admire the apricot colour being brushed onto her toenails.
After that Libera hit the shops, buying not only the cutest white and lime strappy sundress (that she refused to take off and so put her old dress into the bag) but also three maternity dresses, also falling well into the 'so cute you could just die!' spectrum. Then it was along to the park she went, swinging her bag in hand and smiling brightly at the mortals she passed. She was going to have one of them, oh yes, and a really cute one again.
It was the back of Honos' head that Libera saw first, and she approached her old friend where he sat on the bench, coming up behind him and putting her hands over his eyes softly. "Hello, stranger," she said, leaning in against his ear.
-
After they'd gotten back from Chicago, Honos had pretty much kept to himself. He tended to keep his innermost feelings to himself most of the time anyway, and this especially wasn't something he wanted to share with anyone else. Even though they'd only been a small part of Mary's life, he still hated the fact that she'd been taken from them so soon. It wasn't fair, they'd barely gotten to know her at all.
Eventually, though, he started coming back to himself, helped along by Libera and her cheerful presence. It was nearly possible to stay sad for too long when she was around, and he was grateful for that. He threw himself into training new recruits and drilling with his squadron, relishing in the ache in his muscles every time. Turns out, knocking people on the ground was a great distraction technique.
He'd gotten Libera's text while he was finishing the breakfast dishes, and he smiled and tapped out a response. 'Of course. I'll see you there.' He showered and dressed, then headed out on foot toward the location she'd specified. This part of the park was fairly quiet at this time of day, and he found a seat on a bench beneath an enormous tree, enjoying the feeling of the wind on his skin.
When he felt the hands cover his eyes, he couldn't help but smile. "And hello to you to," he replied. "I'd say it's nice to see you, but there seems to be a problem."
-
Libera removed her hands with a smile and came around the bench to sit beside him. "Well, I'm very nice to see, so I won't deny you that pleasure." From her little bag she pulled out a large pink drink bottle that read 'HYDRATE!' in swirly letters and took a long drink before holding it out to him. "Riesling?"
-
"That you are," he agreed easily, smiling up at her once he could see again. The fact that she had wine in her water bottle made him chuckle, but all he said was, "Yes, thank you."
He took a long drink of his own (chalk it up to being Roman, or maybe her presence, or both, but he did love wine), then passed it back to her. "So what brings you out on this lovely day?" he asked.
-
Libera took another sip after the bottle was returned to her and then screwed the lid back on as she smiled at him brightly. "I'm going to have a baby!" she told him with delight.
-
Honos felt his eyebrows shoot toward his hairline, but hot on the heels of that was a pleased smile. "Congratulations," he told her, and he meant it. "When are you due?"
-
"Oh, I'm not pregnant yet," she corrected him with a light laugh. "But I've decided that I'm doing it. And that you're gonna to be the father." Another bright smile, as Libera could see literally no problem with this plan or the manner in which she'd brought it up.
-
Honos was glad she'd taken the wine back, because if he'd been drinking, he probably would have either choked on it, or spit all over the pair of them. As it was, his eyebrows shot right back up in surprise. "Oh," was all he managed, after a moment or two. "If that's what you want, I don't have any objections. I did rather like being a father the first time around."
-
Libera clapped in delight and then leaned over to kiss Honos' cheek quickly. "See, I knew it was a good idea!" The thought that Honos wouldn't be into it, or that he might even say no, hadn't occurred at all to Libera. People didn't often deny her anything and she had become well used to just getting whatever she wanted with very little effort.
-
Honos just huffed out a quiet laugh and smiled at her. He couldn't lie, the thought of the two of them bringing another child into the world made some fundamental part of him happy. That, and sometimes it was hard for him to tell Libera no. (And 'sometimes' might be generous.)
"And it did turn into a good idea all those years ago," he agreed. "So yes, I'm game."
-
"I thought a girl," Libera said to him, "but now I'm considering a boy. I think we'd make a very pretty boy, don't you?" she grinned at him and touched Honos' cheek gently. "He'd have our shared cheekbones."
"Shall we do dinner tonight and make a baby?" Libera beamed.
-
"Whichever comes, I'm fine with it," Honos told her. "But yes, we probably would make a handsome boy. And cheekbones to cut glass with."
He grasped her hand and kissed it, smiling back because her enthusiasm was infectious. "And you say you're not a planner," he teased gently. "Sounds good to me."
-
"I know," Libera beamed, "look at me. I've been thinking about this idea since this morning!" For Libera, that was a long time of focus, so clearly it was a good idea.
Then she ran a hand through her hair as gave him her best seductive eyes. "So do you think you can manage the hardship of having sex with me again, soldier?"
-
Honos laughed. "There's a pun in there somewhere, and at the risk of making another one, I'm fairly certain I can rise to the occasion," he replied. Honos was willing to sit down and think about logistics later, but that time was not right now.
-
Libera's giggle was properly girly and she bumped her shoulder against his with amusement. A pair of small child when running very past them - perfect timing, it seemed - chasing after an escaped poodle dragging its leash behind it. "I don't want a poodle though," Libera said once they'd gone.
She turned to look at Honos and her smile was softer, more thoughtful. "How have you been doing?" she asked him, thinking about their sad, quiet nights together in Chicago. "Really?"
-
Honos snorted softly, amused. "Then we won't get a poodle," he promised, watching the children as they chased after their dog.
He shrugged and sighed. "Better than a few weeks ago," he said after a few moments. "I hate attending the funerals of my family, but they tend to happen when you live on and they don't. But with time, I'll be fine. It hurt for a while after Aurelia passed too. But eventually I was able to make peace with it."
-
"If we make another baby," Libera told him seriously, "it'll die as well. Too soon, maybe sixty years. Are you sure you want to feel that again?"
-
"I knew, in the back of my brain, that someday Aurelia would leave us as well," Honos replied. "And I wouldn't have traded one second of her life with us to take away the pain of her death. So yes, it's painful. But I'll always consider it worth it."
-
Libera watched him for a few moments after he'd stopped speaking, then she leaned over and kissed him softly, lips lingering against his. When she drew away it was with a small smile. "You're a good man," she told him. "And you were always a good father."
-
Honos smiled softly at her. "Being a father was one of the best things I ever did," he told her. "I loved every moment of it, even the parts that sometimes stressed me out. Particularly the teenage years. But like I said, I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything."