#look at em...so tender I wuv them

[ptanalo]

Commission I did recently!

[erineverly]

“Why’s there no one else named Ass-el? Jus’ you, dada? Why’s it jus’ you?” The small boy inquires, strawberry brows furrowing in confusion as he wonders if his dad feels lonely sometimes just because he hasn’t yet met another Axl. “Wittle wuv. You named me dat at hostipal?” He thinks out loud, stumbling slightly over the difficult word. Emerald eyes widening at the possibility of little love being his government name, he looks from his mom to his dad and back in confusion. “I knows all songs! All of ‘em!” He proudly brags, even though it’s far from being true. He just wants to impress his parents. “You sits and I’ll show you.” He’s suddenly willing to abandon the sea monster act because the idea of performing one of Elvis’ songs for his parents seems like a better idea. His features light up when the older redhead admits that mommy is in fact their love, cheeks dimpling as he claps his small hands. “Wow, my goodness… You’re so sweet. Thank you, boys,” Erin says with a sweet smile, trying to hide the fact that Axl’s words have made her heart beat faster. Rationally, she knows that he’s saying these things for Sebastian’s sake, since their son is having a hard time comprehending that his parents are no longer together, but it doesn’t stop her from wondering if maybe, just maybe, he’s still got feelings for her. It’s wrong of her to hope he does and she knows it, but she still can’t help herself. She meets his eyes and winks, brushing off any possible worries or regrets that he might be having. Oh, it’s fine. It doesn’t matter. I know you don’t really mean it. “Now you gotta say it back, mommy. Dat dada’s your wuv, too,” Sebastian insists, making Erin’s cheeks flush a bright shade of red. She averts her gaze, focusing on her manicured fingertips and says softly, “of course, daddy’s our love, too.” It feels awkward, but mostly because it’s true and she worries that he’ll notice the hint of sincerity in her voice. “Oh, fudge!” Erin parrots, snickering as her fingers release her ex-husband’s ankle. It’s a little thing, but she genuinely appreciates how cautious he is around their son, doing his best not to cuss in front of him. Unlike Anthony who, despite her best efforts and lectures, continues to use inappropriate language around Sebastian. That’s why their son now knows words like: fuck, bullshit and bitch, why he used one of them not so long ago at the table.“Time for a feast! I’m pretty sure sea monsters eat pirates. They taste like chicken tenders,” the former model comes up with, much to her son’s amusement who begins to squeal in delight, his small body clinging to his father’s muscular back. “Nom-nom-nom-nom!” Sebastian rubs his face against his dad’s shoulder, accidentally getting some of the spaghetti sauce from his mouth on the fabric, giggling and making chewing sounds “Yummy!”

“Exactly, that’s right. All of you are the bestest.” Axl smiles proudly, holding him tight and kissing his cheek in proud father. “Mhm, that’s you. Little love.” The redhead chuckles, the way he’s nodding his head like that reminds him of something erratic he would do. “I’m glad you know so much about Elvis.” Now he’s extra proud and feels sad only because it’s not on tape, that’s hilarious and so adorable he’s in more ways like him at that age. Except, he has love for his mother and she has love for him. That’s all that matters, even if they’re split up and it’s not the way he wanted it to be…at least Erin will always have love for him unlike his mother. “Yes, mommy is our love too.” Axl blurts, but then realizes how odd that sounds including himself when he has a girlfriend. Feeling a sudden wave of shyness, that’s embarrassing.

“Oh fuuu—dgeee.” Fuck turning to fudge the second he feels his ankle being grabbed, still trying to climb away but then a little boy climbs on him, his weight barely anything but Axl grunts when he plops down on the floor. “I’ve been caught, you got me!”

[yukiwrites]

Renewed Vows, Overpowering Love

Thank you so much for the support and the patience as always, @breeachuu! I hope you like it! ;v;)

Summary: It’s been almost 10 years since Henry and Nidra came to terms with their feelings -- since they had married, so to say. They never actually gotten around into having a proper ceremony, but that was about to change if it depended on Henry and Nidra’s closest friend, Queen Robin.

Commission info HERE and HERE!

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The sun rose shyly in the sky as dawn started to break -- the idyllic rays of light shone through leaves, windows and roofs alike, illuminating the small yet bright flocks of dust as though they were morning stars.

The air itself felt more clean to the lungs, result of the previous week filled with rainfall. The water had washed the land in such a way that it grew anew under the people's feet.

Waking up to such array of sensations, especially beside the man who had made all of her dreams come true for the past decade, made Nidra almost feel like crying first thing in the morning.

She woke up with the chirp of birds, with the song of the leaves dancing with the morning breeze -- with the sound of laughter of her own children trying to keep quiet so as not to wake their parents up. The manakete clutched her heart with emotion, watching as Henry slept peacefully beside her once she sat up on their bed. His hair had grown a bit over the last few years, but he always made sure to cut it at around the same length; not to mention that his complexion underwent very little changes in these past 10 years they've been together.

"Well, not exactly a round ten per se, that one is tomorrow," she mumbled to herself, taking a few strands of hair from her husband's eyes. "Still, it IS mind-boggling to see that you haven't changed a bit, or at least very little, in all those years, my love." She whispered more to herself than to her sleeping consort, but a smile growing on his lips betrayed his 'pretending to be asleep' act.

"I was born with this face, you know? Nyaha!" He chuckled, rubbing sleep out of his eyes before stretching his body. "You shoulda seen me when I was a kid -- oh wait, you already have! I had this same face too, see?" He pointed with both indexes to his smile, making the manakete giggle before closing in for a morning kiss.

"I do see it; it never fails to surprise me." She said by his lips, breathing the same air as he.

"I'm serious, you know? If we ever have another kid -- one who looks like me this time -- you'll see it! I'll bet I was even born laughing instead of crying, nyaha!"

"You buffoon," Nidra nudged his shoulder, leaning her forehead against his. "You've only been drinking your life-extending potion for less than two years, and still look as young as you did a decade ago-"

"ALMOST a decade, ey? We're having our anniversary tomorrow! Is the dragon age catching up to you, I wonderr?" He said playfully, slowly wrapping both arms around his wife's waist. She once again nudged his shoulder, but this time with more strength. "Oof! Hey! I didn't even call you old-"

"Not another word!" She squashed his cheeks with both hands, making him do a fish face as his lips open and closed helplessly between her fingers.

"Yu'roldjie aja gwanny buj I shtill wuv you!" He managed to say as his body shook with mirth, Nidra's increasingly red face making him laugh even harder.

"Who's old as a granny? I am older than those, as well!" She said with an odd sense of pride, letting go of her husband's face so as to flick his forehead. Henry fell dramatically on the mattress, laughing so hard he held his stomach.

"Nyaha! You're the BEST, Ni-Ni!"

The morning progressed slowly: since only Nidra, Henry and their youngest children were at home at the moment, they simply shared an early breakfast and went about with their business -- the kids to the yard behind their house to collect berries, the adults to enjoy a nice shade watching them.

Meliodas and Cynthia had gone to the palace the previous day to stay the night there, meaning to return the following evening. They had to be back for their parents' 10th wedding anniversary, after all!

Although that was the plan, Nidra felt her son approaching from the sky much earlier than intended -- it was barely past noon once her eldest child landed up on the hill and quickly made his way down.

"Mother, Father! I've returned, but this time as a high-end courier!" He smiled brightly, running towards his parents who sat each on their own rocking chair placed right outside, towards the hill. In his hand lay a letter with the royal seal, more specifically, the Queen's seal.

"Oh, from Robin?" Nidra lifted both hands to receive the message, a tender smile upon her face. She missed the timing whence Meliodas winked to Henry as she carefully opened the envelope. "My, she truly wrote this as official-looking as possible!" She mused, perusing the detailed calligraphy and high-quality paper.

"What does it say?!" Henry jumped behind Nidra's chair, accidentally rocking it before he held it by its armrests so he could read the contents.

"I'm so very curious, as well. She forbade me from opening it as she handed it to me, the seal still hot! May I read it with you?" Meliodas approached carefully, not knowing from which of his father's shoulders to peek from as Nidra never took her eyes off of the letter.

Her smile grew until her eyes burned. "That Robin, always so attentive." She sniffled, handing the letter upwards, to whomever wanted to read it. Henry snatched it from her hands, leaning on Meliodas so the both of them could read what they already knew. "She asked us to--"

"Ohhh, juicy! Spend the night at the castle so we can all have a nice wedding-anniversary breakfast with the whole gang!" Henry cut his wife off, his smile too large to contain. Suddenly, he frowned, pensive, and looked up. "Huh? Aren't those things usually celebrated during diner? Why a breakfast?"

Nidra ran her fingers through the carefully woven chair, smiling fondly. "Before you started working on a cure for my narcolepsy, I mentioned to her that I truly envied those who could enjoy a nice breakfast with their comrades since I usually either overslept and missed them or would fall asleep during the act and attend it only halfway. I truly did not think she would remember such a tiny detail..."

"Ohhh," Henry and Meliodas nodded concomitantly, exchanging meaningful glances. "You sure are loved, huh, Ni-Ni?" He smirked to his son as he patted his wife's head; the manakete boy almost giggled aloud, but managed to simply chuckle and take a deep breath.

"Shall we get ready to go, then, Mother? Father?" He opened both arms.

"We shall." Nidra got up, stretched herself and breathed long and hard. "Could you bring the children inside? I shall prepare their bags for the journey."

"Aye aye!" Henry smooched his wife as she walked past him (receiving a well-deserved kick on the shin) before following his eldest son towards the bushes the children were playing at. "Did Cynthia stay behind forr... something particular?"

Meliodas snorted. "Nay. She's beside herself with excitement; not a good secret-keeper like that."

"Nyaha, that sounds like our Cyn-Cyn."

The bush in front of them moved before a green-haired head popped from inside. "Me-me?" Little Cynthia smiled widely, her entire face smeared with berries.

"GYAHA," Henry threw his head back in laughter, "didja miss your mouth and spread fruit all over your face, kiddo?" He opened his arms so the little girl could jump into his hug. "Here, let Dad wipe it all for you." He said as he reached for a handkerchief inside his pocket, promptly cleaning Cyn's face.

"There're more this way, Cyn- Oh, big bro!" Meli was midway to pointing towards a further bush when he lifted his head to see his older brother. "There're sooo many tasty fruit there! Let's go pick 'em!" He smiled widely, one of his front teeth missing.

"No can do, Meli. C'mere with big brother, hmm? We're going to visit Morgs and Luci!" He said excitedly, pleasantly watching as the boy's expression brightened.

"We're going to the castle?! Yayy!" He jumped into Meliodas' chest. "Now? Today?!"

"Today, indeed!" Meliodas got up, securing his younger self in his arms. "When we get there, I'll have a very important mission for you..."

Since Cyn was still too young to fly (as was Meli, but he could already handle a short flight or two), the family went to the castle by foot; arriving at the late afternoon.

From one of the large windows, Cynthia watched them walk in. Her heart almost jumped out of her throat. "Luciiiii, let me go see them, please! pretty pretty please? I promise I won't say anything!" She paced around the room like a caged animal -- a very excited animal -- finally shaking her friend by her shoulders.

"You know I cannot allow that, Cynthia! Mother's words were clear: we've been planning all of this for MONTHS; we can't have a single thing go wrong -- nor can we let Aunt Nidra to realize everything we've been doing at the very last day! You are confined into this room until tomorrow."

"But I wanna see Motherrrrrrr," Cynthia dramatically fell onto the ground, holding her friend's skirt. "Lemme seeee herrrr, I wanna hug my Father tooooo," she cried, rubbing her face into Lucina's legs.

Weak to younger-sibling-slyness, it took everything Lucina had to look up to the ceiling, away from her wailing friend. "I shan't be swayed! Tomorrow is far too important to let everything go to waste now!"

"Grrr, I need to think up of a better way to--" she gasped loudly. "I CAN FLY! LEMME JUMP FROM THE WINDOW!" She quickly let go of her friend and ran towards the large stained glass window, but Lucina herself was quite fast, rapidly managing to immobilize her manakete friend.

"Don't make me tie you up to this bed, Cynthia! You stay here!"

"Nnnnoooooo...!" Cynthia lifted her hand upwards dramatically, then made it limp beside her lifeless body. "I won't be able to sleeeeeep..."

Sighing as she noticed that her friend seemingly stopped fighting back, Lucina relaxed her grip. "Just bear with it for a while longer, Cynthia; I beg you. Tomorrow you WILL be there to welcome Ni-Ni, um... Aunt Nidra, after all."

Cynthia kicked her feet in excitement, her body trembling with energy all over again. "I know! And I can't wait!"

In another corner of the castle, Robin had instructed all the staff to smoothly guide Nidra away from the east wing, which they did quite subtly -- the manakete was received so warmly like always that she barely noticed how she didn't even touch the eastern garden and got through the western one instead. Well, the living quarters were situated at the west wing, so she didn't have any reason to suspect not being shown the eastern side. What was odd to her was how Cynthia's presence remained upstairs despite them having arrived quite some time ago -- there was no way the young manakete missed feeling four other dragons entering the castle; especially not after Nidra taught her how to sense presences.

Still, she knew how her daughter could be -- once she put her mind into something, she would be so focused on it she would lose track of time and place, so it wasn't ALL that uncommon. Just a nudge at the back of Nidra's head.

Like it usually happened whenever they visited, Nidra went to Robin's study to talk, feeling closely at home at that familiar balcony where she landed the week after Robin married, almost twelve years ago.

Her friend had aged well -- she still looked young, but with a firm chin and a wise gaze to go with her poise. She had grown into a magnificent Queen, down to her mannerisms and habit to issue orders. It warmed Nidra's heart to watch her already wonderful friend grow into an even more impressive ruler.

During their conversation, Robin would find Nidra lost in thought more often than not -- lost into the memories of their times together, and how much they shaped who the both of them were today.

"How much you mean to me, my friend. How, how very much." Nidra commented all of sudden, her eyes welling up with emotion. "Thank you so very much for remembering such a tiny detail of what I offhandedly mentioned almost a decade ago... It means the world to me. To have someone remember something about me that's often lost into my endless existence... Ah, Robin, how much I treasure that!"

The Queen smiled softly, her expression lines shaping her face into a motherly look. She grasped her friend's hand, caressing it with her thumb. "I'll remember you for the rest of my days, Nidra. Even after that, as my children grow and keep mine and your memories alive -- as you watch over them and make yourself a constant within my bloodline. I'll always be with you, no matter how far you or I go."

Nidra blinked so as to shoo the tears away, holding Robin's hand with both of hers. "And be present I shall, Robin. As I've promised before, I shall say it again -- I will be there for your children, and their children. I'll watch over them for you."

It was Robin's turn to feel misty-eyed, but she managed to blink it away and smile. "Look at us, making promises for the future when we're a night of sleep's away from your anniversary. Let us not behave like old grannies and enjoy the present, yes? We have the rest of our lives to reminisce."

"Right you are, my friend. As always; right you are." Nidra chuckled, drying a few stray tears from her cheeks. The night had already covered the land like a blanket that waited to be lifted come morning.

Unaware of whatever machinations were going on inside the castle, Nidra went to bed with Henry a bit after midnight -- the children had gone to sleep with young Morgan and Luci in their rooms, so it was only the couple for the night, like it hadn't been for a long time. Henry made an off-handed comment about being alone to 'dingle-dangle', but received a very embarrassed slap on the chest before Nidra snuggled her face on his to sleep.

Well, Henry thought, not like I'm gonna catch a wink anyway, nyaha! He held his wife closely, caressing her back up and down ever so slowly, like a unspoken lullaby.

The manakete fell asleep right after, safe in her husband's arms.

Yet, when she woke up, they weren't there to welcome her to the waking world. Frowning as she rubbed sleep out of her eyes, Nidra yawned widely as she sat up and groggily looked around the room. Everything looked right in place, apart from a wooden mannequin placed right beside the old full body mirror at the back of the room.

"What...?" She squinted, her vision still a bit blurry from sleep. The light coming through the expensive window was as idyllic as the previous day's, but now it slightly blinded her to what was in front of her very eyes: it was a wedding dress.

True, it was not a frilly dress with a huge ball-gown skirt, no. It was made with a very thin and light fabric, trumpet shaped and strapless -- though it had very, very long sleeves, long enough to trail behind her as she wore it. Taking a closer look, she could see that there was a cut in the long skirt, allowing her more movement without being crass; her leg could be seen all the way to her thigh, but since the skirt had so much thin fabric, it would look as though she was flying-

"Oh, so that's why the sleeves are so long... my wings." She whispered as she touched the fabric, not realizing she had already gotten up to see the dress up close. It had so many little, hand-sewn details from the tube top to the waist, then all the way through the sleeves as well as on the intricate back. It was a true masterpiece, carefully made for Nidra herself. And only her.

Feeling like she was walking inside a dream -- her feet felt as though she stepped on cotton -- Nidra looked around the room once again, time moving much slower than before. She saw so much more color than before, though nothing had actually changed. It was as though the sun reflecting through the stained glass painted the entire room in rainbows and stars, bringing her so much emotion she couldn't help but sob.

So that was the reason why Robin had sent such a formal letter -- but that didn't seem like it was only her friend's doing...? Confused, overwhelmed and emotional, the manakete stood still, her hand never letting go of the dress as she tried to understand the rush of emotions going through her heart.

She failed to notice the careful footsteps by the door as it carefully opened. She failed still to notice when her husband slipped inside and opened his arms. "Phew, I gotcha still in your pajamas!" He huffed, his usually pale face bright red from running. "I had to fly back home to bring these! Can't have a manakete wedding without our jewels, ey?" He flashed the jewels Nidra had made him over a decade ago, carefully woven into necklaces. "I'm glad I got to be the one to put it on you, nyaha," his breath was still shaky, but he managed to smile as he walked to his wife and put the necklace on her. "Happy anniversary, Ni-Ni. I knew asking Robin to help with your dream wedding was the right thing to do."

Blinking, it took Nidra a full minute to tear her eyes away from the dress to her grinning husband. Once she took a full look at him, she realized he wore a tuxedo -- not a black or purple one as she was sure he'd prefer, but a dark green one, complete with a rainbow colored handkerchief by his chest pocket.

The male manakete color scheme; to call upon the females with his intricate scales and battle prowess.

Seeing how she eyed his outfit, Henry smiled and Nidra could almost see him being bashful. "I'm not a dragon (and boy do I wish I were!) but 'least I could borrow the colors to match my wife!"

Nidra opened and closed her mouth like a fish, making Henry remember the previous morning and giggle before wrapping his arms around her waist. "It's okay, take your time to take it all in." He patted her back, used to giving her space to digest things through.

A few minutes later, Nidra managed to mumble a "how" and a "when", her brain a complete knot.

"You won't believe how many people Robin got into this! It'd be better to show you, though," he smiled, his thin eyes showing a tiny bit of expression lines -- age and wisdom, the same ones she saw in her friend just the previous night.

So he did change a little bit in these ten years.

"Do you want help with the dress? I mean with the undressing part," he wiggled his eyebrows, sure to make her work after making a dirty remark.

It did wonders to bring Nidra back to reality, though it cost him an aching shin. "Worth it!" He said as she made him wait outside while she got into that wonderful dress.

The more she did, the less real it felt. It wasn't as though she had always wanted a wedding ceremony. Her memories of those usually meant that she would be left alone, or at least left aside. Back when she was young, she witnessed a wonderfully large party that's marked her for eternity. Then, there was Robin's, which also dug deep into her, though that time she could be open with her friend and tell her what she was feeling.

There were other parties the Shepherds threw for some of their members' marriages, but it wasn't as though Nidra wanted to have one for herself.

What she wanted were the memories and feelings conveyed in those ceremonies. She wanted to hear the promise from her husband's lips, a bit more official-like than what he usually did (though she could still live without it for the rest of her days since he already gave her so much), and to be congratulated by her friend and family... to announce her love proudly and show it to the world that she was happy.

She was finally, truly happy.

"Aw, Ni-Ni! No need to cry so early! There're so many opportunities for you to cry later!" Henry giggled as she left the room in tears, helping her with her wild hair before escorting her to the eastern side of the castle.

They all knew that although Nidra got used to being around humans, it wasn't as though she enjoyed large crowds, so they kept it all small: at an ancient chapel right behind the walls of a forgotten garden at the east wing, they would formalize Nidra and Henry's marriage for the first time in ten years.

The place overflowed with antique energy, the forest consuming most of the columns and arches, making it an ideal place for a manakete to roost at. Vines and multi-colored flowers sprouted naturally from the old stonework, complementing the floral decoration Cynthia and Meliodas worked hard at.

At the center of the altar, there laid a Naga's Bell, the largest one Nidra had ever seen.

Widening her eyes, she tried to take it all in: she saw her friends and family scattered about the natural garden, all wearing different degrees of smiles. She saw Cyn and Meli dancing with Morgs and Lucina right in front of the paved corridor as the girls carried small baskets full of flower petals while the boys shared a large velvet cushion.

Cynthia spotted her parents coming in first and let out a loud squeal. "Mother!! You look amazing! Happy anniversary! Happy marriage! Gods I'm so excited I- whoops!" She rambled on as she ran towards her mother, tripping on a nearby root and landing right in Nidra's arms. "Nice catch!"

"Oh, my darling child... you look stunning as well. A short dress much like a flower in bloom." Nidra managed to speak, her words outpacing her thoughts. "And your sister is wearing a miniature of the same dress, oh Naga, she looks so adorable." She clutched her chest, misty-eyed. Young Meli wore a miniature tuxedo to match with Henry while Meliodas wore a long, silver coat-tail with platinum ends to signify his wings. He welcomed his mother, father and sister with open arms.

"Mother! You do not know how hard it was to keep all of this a secret from you!" He laughed, squeezing them all in his hug.

Her mind slow, Nidra looked from her husband to her daughter, then to her son. "Indeed... How did you keep it a secret? Cynthia is not much of a secret-keeper..."

"I did my best!" She puffed her cheeks.

"So did Lucina and Robin, Mother. They received the brunt of Cynthia's excitement whenever she was about to blurt it all by accident." Meliodas chuckled, placing a tuft of hair behind his mother's long ear. In a smooth movement, he took a step back to reveal his godmother and god sister.

Both Queen and Princess smiled fondly as the children danced around themselves. "Happy anniversary, old friend." Robin took Nidra's hands in hers, squeezing under her silk gloves. "I got you this time," she winked.

"That you did, you old fox," Nidra's chin trembled, her feelings finally catching up with what was going on. "Oh, give me a hug, Robin! Thank you so much for this." She pulled her friend into a bear embrace, squeezing the breath out of her.

"N-Ni-Ni, you're going to kill Mother-" Lucina blurted out as Robin started turning blue, but Nidra let go of her right after, her entire body trembling.

"I- We better start this before I start crying for three hours straight." Nidra sniffled, covering her mouth with one hand as Lucina tenderly took her turn in hugging her godmother.

Henry nodded beside her, his expression comically serious. "She means it. She WILL cry for three hours straight if you let her."

Robin guffawed, throwing her head back. "Ha! And you think I don't know that? Let's take our places quickly before Cyn scatters all the petals in that same spot she's in."

"Mommyyy! Cyn'll make the path pwetty for you!" The little girl waved, obediently not leaving her post as she had promised aunt Robin earlier. Luci worriedly tried to keep her friend to waste more petals than necessary, stealing a strangled laughter from the manakete bride.

Nidra tried with all her might to keep her tears from flowing, but flow they did -- she walked down the aisle alongside her husband as their children opened the way for them, their friends and found family waiting for them at the altar, whence the Naga's Bell hung magnanimously. Under it, Tiki used herself as a proxy for Naga's voice to call upon her dragon children so they could celebrate such a love-filled and heartwarming union.

Nowi, Nah, Cynthia, Meliodas as well as their younger counterparts all felt a strong current of power coursing through their veins, as though Naga had descended amongst them for a brief moment to touch upon Nidra’s jewel with a kiss. Both hers and Henry’s shone so brightly the next second, they had to close their eyes, not realizing they intertwined their fingers in a strong handhold.

For a moment, there was only silence, as though time had stopped simply for Henry and Nidra to look at each other and smile. “I love you,” they said in unison, Henry’s smile the truest Nidra had ever seen in the past decade.

He had grown so much since they first met -- he got in touch with his feelings more often and hardly ever masked them with a snicker, choosing to convey them to his wife instead. And at that moment, everything that he felt meant only that.

Love.

Overpowering and true love.

Nidra couldn’t keep the waterfall of tears away any longer, so she finally let them flow as freely as possible, a second after she wrapped both arms around Henry’s neck so as to tenderly seal their renewed promise with a kiss. He reciprocated for a moment, then snorted over her lips as he felt her shoulders trembling.

“D-don’t laugh!” She protested weakly as she slipped into his shoulder to hide her crying face. Henry, on the other hand, trembled with mirth.

“You’re so funny, Ni-Ni! I’m glad I married you for realsies now.” He patted her back as she grumbled something under her breath, trying to hide the huge smile that went with her tears.

All around them, their family and friends celebrated, throwing petals and rice on them. The children started dancing at the sound of the band which started playing a peppy tune, while the couples hugged themselves so as to take advantage of the atmosphere of love in the air.

Truly, Nidra couldn’t have been happier than on that day.

In truth, ever since marrying Henry for the first time, her life had only gotten exponentially happier. That only made her look forward to eternity beside her beloved, more and more each day.

For the technically newlyweds, life couldn’t actually return to normal -- it was as though they had returned to the early days of their marriage, always enjoying each other’s presence more than with other people. Robin even volunteered to keep the children in the castle for a few weeks or so to let the couple, ahem, renew their vows privately, but Nidra only allowed it for a couple of days at most.

Despite being a blushing bride, she was also a very clingy and proud mother. She didn’t want to part with her children for longer than necessary.

Which was why that, a bit over two months after their ceremony, it occurred to Nidra that she hadn’t transformed to take a nap under the tree atop the hill in quite a while. The fact only came to her mind while she was entangled in her future children’s scales as all of them took a family nap, Cynthia and Meliodas interlaced around each other, with their parents and younger siblings in their midst.

Alone in her waking, Nidra looked down to her sleeping husband, softly placing one hand over her chest.

Could it be? Could it truly be?

The manakete looked around herself -- quite literally surrounded by her family, and yet the expectation of being actually, well, expecting another member to complement it. She bit her lower lip, her eyes welling up with tears. What a great news to wake up to, she thought, snuggling into Henry’s chest. I wonder how I should say it when he wakes up.