#I keep saying this fandom sleeps on raph's trauma

[imashoe69420]

hiii! <3

i was hoping we could get a post movie leo where reader got like really bad hurt by the kraang, and they're in a coma for a longlong time and then they finally wake up, but they still have a lot of recovering to do and leo's reaction through it all?

i know this is a pretty sad concept but im a sucker for angst and i need more of it in this fandom tbh lol i hope this is ok to request!!

I love when y’all say this bc I fucking love writing angst bc I get to interpret Leo and the reader’s dynamic. And I do agree that we need more, I love fluff but cmonnnnn 😩

But I will try my best to fulfill your request! :)

=================================

I Still Need You

Rise!Leo X Injured!Reader (Part 1)

Prompt: When you go into a coma after the Kraang Battle, Leo takes it harder than the rest of his brothers.

Pronouns: Gender Neutral (they/them)

Relationship: Dating (official)

Timeline: Post!Movie

Warnings ⚠️: Strong language, angst, blood, mourning, mentions of trauma

Look here for part 2

================================

“C’mon, (Y/N),” Leo urged them as he carried them towards the Med Bay within the lair, “stay with me!”

Their eyelids flickered, staring up at the turtle. “Leo… I wanna… I wanna sleep..”

“No!” Leo somewhat shouted at them. “Don’t go to sleep! Just keep looking at me, baby. We’re gonna get you fixed up. Just keep your eyes on me.”

But little could be done. Their boyfriend focused and unfocused in and out of their vision. “Leo… am I gonna die…?”

He stared down at them, a look of anguish defining his features. In all honesty, he didn’t know. When Raph threw the debris off of your still form, all he saw was blood. Blood and ash from the crumbling building. Adrenaline stopped him from standing and staring too long as he instantly scooped her up and headed to the lair with the rest of his brothers.

Leo couldn’t lie to them. “Just keep looking at me. Don’t close your eyes.”

Right from the very beginning of the invasion, he had told (Y/N) to stay behind in the lair. They were as stubborn as always and followed Splinter and April to the surface, and he only knew of this when he heard them on the mics they all had on them. He’d told them to go back to safety, but they were determined to help him and his brothers defeat the Kraang. The last thing Leo had heard from them was a scream and then their mic cut out.

When Leo entered the Med Bay, he shouted for Donnie as he gently laid (Y/N)—who’d passed out by now—down on a vacant gurney.

The purple clad turtle rushed into the room with a box containing Saline solution. He hooked it onto the IV pole and attempted to find a vein within (Y/N)’s arm before Leo piped up.

“They don’t need that!” The turtle exclaimed as he grabbed Donnie’s shoulder. “You have to stop the bleeding! They’re bleeding from somewhere!”

Shrugging his hand off and sneering, Donnie finally pushed the needle into their arm. “It doesn’t work like that, Leo. They need fluids before I can do anything.”

Just then, the blue clad turtle realized he’d been shaking the entire time. Shaking with both anxiety and anger. “Donnie, they’re gonna fucking die! Don’t you realize that?! (Y/N)’s gonna—”

“Dammit, Leo!” The older twin bottled his fist, striking the floor in protest. “I’m trying my best! You’re distracting me so you need to leave!”

Everything seemed to go in slow motion after his brother’s demand. Leave? Leave them? After all they’d been through, he was just going to leave them alone? Leo went to say something, but then gazed down at his blood ridden hands and plastron. Thoughts rushed through his mind as the turtle began to breathe heavily.

This was his fault, he thought. If he had just let Raph get the key, the Kraang wouldn’t have been unleashed from the Prison Dimension. Casey wouldn’t have been raised in a post apocalyptic world. Everyone and everything would be normal. He should’ve been more deliberate in telling (Y/N) to go back underground rather. He was the cause of their pain and potential death.

He then suddenly felt a hand caressed his wrist, breaking him out of his pity party. “Leo, I need you to get a grip. (Y/N) will be fine if you let me help them. So, please. You have to go.”

“I…” is all Leo could utter before Donnie returned to (Y/N) to tend to their wounds.

Despite the harshness of his words, they stuck in the blue turtle’s mind. His partner was dying and harassing their only help wasn’t useful. There didn’t need to be anymore blood on his hands. He’d fucked up enough already, he thought.

~~~

For the next few days, Leo slept at the entrance of the Med Bay. Donnie didn’t allow him to see them until they were stabilized. The brothers had argued the first and second time, the younger twin claiming he had every right to see his partner no matter their condition. Donnie argued that (Y/N) still needed to be moderated and didn’t need Leo to stress them out.

(Y/N) had developed seizures that lasted longer the more they occurred, forcing the scientist to put them in a medically induced coma. His twin wasn’t happy about that either on the grounds of the improbability of them ever waking up.

“Leo, this isn’t a debate.” Donnie groaned as he stood behind the glass at Med Bay entrance with another IV bag in his hand. “(Y/N) needs time to heal and coming in to profusely ask them if they’re okay isn’t helpful.”

A fist formed at Leo’s side, glaring at his brother. “All I’m asking for is to see them.”

Donatello shook his head with a sigh. “You don’t want to see them right now. Trust me.”

“Then—” but again, his brother ambled further into the Med Bay, blatantly ignoring him.

It made him angry that he wasn’t being heard. Earlier that day the first argument ensued, Leo had witnessed Raph enter the Med Bay as he was returning from breakfast with his youngest brother. The twin pounded on the door demanding to be let in, but he wasn’t sure if they had even heard him or his older brothers were ignoring his pleas.

The idea of what (Y/N) was going through provoked instant nausea, leading Leo to stay in the bathroom by the toilet for hours. Nothing stayed down and it was as if he made himself physically sick from worry.

Eventually, Mikey grew concerned when he’d heard dry heaving and entered the bathroom only to be turned away.

“I’m alright, Mikey.” Leo reassured him. “Please just leave.”

The youngest brother didn’t know exactly what to say. This was Raph’s area of expertise. He would’ve said something motivational or profound, but all the orange clad turtle could do was crouch down next to him and place his hand against Leo’s shell as he expelled into the toilet once more.

In a way, Mikey had been left in the dark with (Y/N)’s condition, too. He assumed Donnie thought he’d tell Leo what was going on with him. But looking at his lethargic brother now, he felt like he owed him some kind of update.

So later that day, Mikey took it upon himself to call his brother and plead with him to let him or Leo know how (Y/N) was doing.

“Don, Leo’s losing it. He was literally throwing up just a few hours ago. Why can’t you just tell me what’s happening with them. Just to keep him from—”

“Mikey,” Donnie cut him off, “did he put you up to this?”

The orange turtle furrowed his eyebrows. “Wha—no! I said I—”

Through the phone, Mikey heard loud pounding footsteps grow louder until they paused and he heard the voice of his oldest brother. “Listen, Mikey. I know you and Leo are worried about them, but you have to understand that we don’t even fully know their condition. We will let you know when (Y/N) is better.”

The youngest turtle attempted to say something else, but the call dropped right after Raph had finished his sentence.

~~~

A week passed. (Y/N) was still in the coma and Leo was still sleeping at the Med Bay entrance. In fact, he’d gone from sleeping there to basically moving his entire room into the narrow space.

One night on his way out of the wing, Donnie almost tripped over the younger twin and the spread of comic books and blankets scattered across the floor. The scientist grumbled in frustration, gazing down at the mess.

He squatted down to his brother’s side and shook him slightly. “Leo, wake up. You can’t sleep here anymore if you’re gonna leave all this here.”

Leo glanced at him before snatching his shoulder away, turning the opposite way. “I can sleep wherever I want.”

“Sure—but not where people can trip over you.” He began collecting the comics, placing them into neat stacks.

The blue turtle sized Donnie up as he organized his comics before sighing. “Do you even care? You’re seriously more concerned about everybody else tripping over someone—your own brother—that’s been sleeping on the floor for over a week?”

Donnie grumbled as he set the final comics down on the stack. “I do care, Leo. My problem is you don’t trust me. You know I know what I’m doing. Just trust that I will tell you when (Y/N) is better.”

“But I don’t!” He swiped his hand through the middle on the comic pile, swiftly knocking it over. Leo leapt to his feet, Donnie copying his action. “I don’t fucking trust you. It’s been a week and I don’t even know if (Y/N) is alive! Them ending up like this is my fault so I should be allowed to have a part in this. I’ve literally been sick to my fucking stomach for days and you just don’t give a fuck. So no, I don’t trust you. Not with this, Donnie.”

The scientist’s expression remained stoic, which only pissed off Leo more.

Realistically, Donnie did care to an extent. He cared that his brother was getting physically sick from worry. He cared that his brother was sleeping at the entrance of the Med Bay. But he knew all Leo’s worries would be resolved if (Y/N) was awake and stable. If Leo saw how they looked right now, he’d surely break down and act the way he did when he first brought them to the lair.

Right now, (Y/N) was covered in needles leading to IV bags full of various fluids as well as an oxygen and feeding tube. Before they and Leo started dating, (Y/N) would hang out in Donnie’s lab. Most of the time, they would talk his ear off about subjectively meaningless topics. Other times, they’d help him out. The two grew closer until Leo swooped in and ruined everything. They didn’t talk to Donnie as often, mostly going out somewhere with their boyfriend.

To Donnie, his brother’s current demeanor was unjustified. For years, Leo had (Y/N) all to himself. Would it kill him to be without them for a few weeks? He’d stolen his friend, and while what the older twin was doing wasn’t intentionally vindictive, he didn’t feel all that bad for Leo.

The older twin pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled. “Listen… I’m doing my best to get (Y/N) stable enough for you to see them. I’m not a miracle worker—I’m not even a doctor. Do you think I’m not stressed out, too? Like I’m just okay with my friend being in a coma? Did you think I liked doing that?” Donnie fought off tears as he continued. “You have no reason not to trust me. They were mine before they were yours, so don’t pretend that I don’t care! Don’t insinuate that I’d lie about their condition! And stop throwing the same goddamn pity party for yourself. Nobody is pressing you except yourself. I am the only one that’s been getting harped on, so shut the fuck up!” He then stomped passed the glass doors into the Med Bay.

Anger—no, malice suddenly consumed Leo as he stared daggers into the back of Donnie’s head. Who the fuck did he think he was? “They were mine before they were yours”. (Y/N) had always been his. And why did he feel the need to bring it up at this moment in time? What was his point in saying that?

Malice soon took control of his body as he flew past the glass doors, charging at his older twin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note: Soooo I’m realizing this is getting super long and there’s so much more I want to write, so I’m breaking it up into two (possibly three) parts.(´∀｀)

The second part should be coming out a day or two after this part is posted, so keep watch if you’re interested!

~ Han7a

[broomballkraken]

Title: The Definition of Happiness

Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Pairing: Raphael/Dedue

Word count: 3020

Warnings: N/A

Summary: It’s their daughter’s 5th birthday, and as they celebrate, Raphael is pretty sure that he never truly knew the definition of real happiness until Dedue came into his life and decided to stay.

Written for Raphael Week 2020 Day 3, Prompt: Family

“Magnolia, please put your shoes on. Your socks will get dirty if you play outside in them.”

“Okay, Papa!”

“Have fun, dear.”

Raphael was just walking through the door to their house as Dedue finished speaking, and he had to quickly step to the side to avoid being barreled into by his daughter, who quickly slipped her shoes on (the wrong feet) and rushed out the door. Raphael laughed and stuck his head out the door behind her.

“Hey, Maggie! Don’t get too tired before your birthday dinner! Wouldn’t want you to sleep through it!” he yelled after her. The rambunctious, pig-tailed red-head turned to look at him, flashing a gap-toothed grin.

“I’ll be fine, Daddy! I can play all day long and still be wide awake!” Magnolia boasted with a vigorous nod of her head, and Raphael laughed as she turned around and headed for the large barn that sat across the backyard.

As the last few chuckles rumbled through his chest, Raphael went back inside, smiling when he saw his husband working away in the kitchen. Breathing in deeply through his nose, Raphael could smell the cake baking away in the oven, and his mouth started watering in anticipation.

Raphael crossed the room and came up behind Dedue, his arms slipping around his waist as he pressed a few kisses into his neck. Dedue hummed and turned his head, his long silver hair tickling Raphael’s nose, and Raphael found his lips captured in a tender kiss. He smiled against Dedue’s lips as his arms tightened around his husband.

Eventually Raphael pulled away, placing one more quick kiss on Dedue’s bearded cheek. “Hey hun! It smells really good in here! Maggie’s gonna love her cake!” Dedue chuckled as he picked up a wooden spoon and resumed stirring the contents of the large bowl on the counter.

“Thank you, darling. I think she will love it too,” Dedue said, “Did you get the dogs all fed?”

Raphael nodded enthusiastically before resting his chin on Dedue’s shoulder. “Yep! Watered and weeded the garden too! You’ve been working hard all day cooking and baking, so I wanted to lighten your load as much as possible.”

“I appreciate that, Raphael.”

“Anything for you, love!”

Dedue turned around in Raphael’s arms and pressed their foreheads together, his hands reaching up to gently cup Raphael’s face. His gentle fingers felt nice as they ran through his beard, and Raphael let out a content sigh as he gazed adoringly into Dedue’s seafoam eyes.

“It is hard to believe that Magnolia is turning five already,” Dedue mused, his nose brushing lightly against Raphael’s, “It feels like only yesterday that we brought her home as a newborn.”

“Yeah, time sure flies! It’s been a wild ride, this whole parenting thing.”

“Indeed, but I would not trade it for anything.” Dedue paused to press his lips against Raphael’s in a quick, tender kiss. “You and Magnolia are irreplaceable precious to me, and you both have made my life truly a blessed one filled with almost overwhelming amounts of love and happiness that I once did not think that I deserved. I love you with all of my heart, my sunshine.”

Raphael’s eyes became misty as he listened to Dedue speak. They really had been through a lot together; attending the academy, fighting in a war, and afterwards recovering from the resulting trauma as they led the rebuilding efforts in Duscur. Raphael knew all of Dedue’s heartbreaking past and his deep insecurities that he had hidden quite well from everyone else. And he would never, ever question the fact that he had fallen head-over-heels in love with Dedue, and that love would never fade as long as Raphael’s heart continued to beat inside of his chest. He could never have imagined that his first, completely innocent encounter with Dedue in the monastery greenhouse all those years ago would lead to where he was now: overwhelmingly happy, fulfilled, and unconditionally loved.

“Aw, sweetheart! You’re gonna make me cry if you keep saying that kind of stuff!” Raphael gushed, as he removed his arms from Dedue’s waist to instead snake them around his neck. “I love you too, Dedue, forever and always.” Raphael’s voice dropped to a whisper, and he kissed Dedue again, smiling against his lips when Dedue wrapped his arms around him in a tender embrace.

“Beefsteak! Gimme back my shoe!”

Raphael pulled away from Dedue and turned around just in time to see Beefsteak burst into the house through the large dog door. The Saint Bernard rushed into the living room and hopped onto the couch, looking absolutely pleased with himself as his tail wagged vigorously behind him. Raphael took note of the little shoe that was sticking out of Beefsteak’s mouth, and he chuckled and shook his head.

Magnolia suddenly threw open the door that Beefsteak came through only moments before, panting heavily as her face scrunched up with annoyance. She spotted Beefsteak on the couch and let out a shout as she sprinted across the kitchen, but she stumbled and started to fall.

“Watch it!” Raphael quickly scooped Magnolia into his arms before she could hit the floor. She blinked in surprise as Raphael cradled her, before she burst into a fit of giggles.

“Yay! You saved me, Daddy!” she said, and Raphael raised an eyebrow at her.

“I sure did! You gotta be more careful. You could’ve hurt yourself, you know.” Magnolia averted her gaze for a moment, and she fiddled with the hem of her dress.

“I’m sorry...I’ll be more careful next time,” she mumbled, and Raphael smiled, kissing her forehead.

“It’s all good, as long as you mean it.” Raphael peppered a few more kisses over Magnolia’s face, and she fell into a fit of giggles.

“That tickles!” she said, another delighted squeal escaping her when Raphael rubbed his bearded cheek over hers.

“Oh does it now?” Raphael teased and he continued his relentless assault by rubbing his beard over her neck. Magnolia giggled and wriggled in his arms, trying in vain to escape her dad’s clutches.

Raphael heard Dedue laugh behind him, and his husband was suddenly hovering over Raphael’s shoulder. Raphael glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, and saw a rare, mischievous glint in those beautiful eyes of his.

“Magnolia, you might be pleased to find out that you are not the only ticklish one here.” Raphael’s eyes widened in realization, but it was too late, and he yelped when Dedue’s fingers jabbed into his sides.

“H-Hey! That’s cheating!” Raphael protested, his booming laughter filling the room as Dedue continued to tickle him. Magnolia let out a surprised gasp.

“Daddy, you’re ticklish too?!?” she said, her blue eyes wide as saucers at this incredible revelation. A devilish grin spread across her face, and she pressed her small fingers against Raphael’s neck. Raphael laughed as she relentlessly tickled him, and when tears started to leak out of the corners of his eyes, Dedue took pity on him and pulled Magnolia into his arms.

“I think that is enough, dear. Give your poor dad a break.” Dedue said. Magnolia pouted, but a smile crossed her face again when Dedue set her down, and she placed a hand on one hip and pointed at Raphael.

“Okay, but you better be ready, Daddy, ‘cause I’m gonna tickle you good next time!” she said, giggling when Raphael growled playfully and lifted his arms in front of him as if he was going to try and catch her. He laughed when she ran off into the living room, and she suddenly gasped.

“Oh no! Beefsteak! Dahlia! My shoe is not a treat!”

Raphael shared a look with Dedue, who chuckled and shook his head. Leaving Dedue to continue making Magnolia’s cake, Raphael went into the living room, where Magnolia was trying to tug her shoe from Beefsteak and Dahlia, who both had a tight hold on opposite ends.

“Okay you two, you know better than to chew on shoes!” Raphael scolded, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared down the two large dogs. They both let out a couple of guilty whines, and they’re jaws slowly opened, letting the shoe fall to the floor with a wet ‘plop!’

“Eww, that’s gross!” Magnolia’s face scrunched up with disgust as she pinched a still dry spot of the shoe between her fingers and held it up. Raphael opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by a loud knock on the front door. As Magnolia continued to stare dubiously at the soggy shoe handing in front of her, Raphael crossed the room to answer the door.

“Hey Raph! Long time no see!”

“Maya! You’re here early!”

Raphael let out a jovial laugh as he lifted his sister into the air and gave her a tight hug. She hugged him back, and when she was set back onto her feet, she was set upon by Beefsteak and Dahlia, who gave her many sloppy dog kisses. A moment later, Magnolia nudged Raphael and the dogs out of the way and squealed happily.

“Auntie Maya! You made it!”

Maya grinned at Magnolia and placed a hand on her head to ruffle her hair. “Of course, squirt! I wouldn’t miss my favorite niece’s birthday for anything.”

“But I’m your only niece!”

“Haha, you’ve got that right!”

Magnolia giggled as she hugged Maya’s legs, and she gazed up with wide, hopeful eyes. “Did you get me a present?”

“Well yeah. It’d be silly not to get a present for such a cute and well-behaved little lady like yourself.”

A rumbling chuckle came from the direction of the kitchen, and Raphael looked up to see Dedue lift a hand to his face, looking to be trying to stifle any more laughter. Their eyes met across the room, and Raphael a soft smile spread over his face. Dedue mirrored his smile, and even though they had been married for quite sometime now, the sight still left Raphael speechless and made his heart race.

“Oh wow! What a cool painting!”

“You like it? I managed to be in the right place to see the wyvern migration last year, so I painted it for you.”

“I love it! Thanks Auntie Maya!”

Maya knelt down so that Magnolia could easily jump into her arms and give her a tight hug. When they parted and Maya stood back up, Dedue walked into the room and took a turn hugging his sister-in-law.

“It is good to see you, Maya.” Dedue said when he pulled away, “Will you be staying long?”

“Well, I’ve really got nowhere else to be,” she mused, shrugging nonchalantly, “I don’t really want to impose too much on you guys, though.”

“It is no trouble at all. Please stay as long as you would like.”

“Yeah!” Maya interjected, wrapping her arms around Maya’s legs, “Stay Auntie! We got some new doggies that you haven't met yet!”

“Oh do you now? Well, you’ll definitely have to show me!”

“Yay!”

“That will have to wait,” Dedue interrupted, gesturing towards the kitchen, “Dinner is ready, and after we can have your birthday cake, Magnolia.”

“Yay! Papa’s cakes are the best!” Magnolia said, grabbing Maya’s hand as she tugged her eagerly into the kitchen. Raphael watched with an amused grin on his face; his family brought such joy to his life, and it was a wonder that he ever knew the definition of happiness before Magnolia came into the picture.

“Darling.” Raphael was snapped from his thoughts and found that Dedue was standing before him. Ah, that’s right. He knew the definition of happiness, because ever since Raphael had confessed his feelings for Dedue, long ago in the greenhouse at Garrag Mach, Raphael had a well of infinite happiness as long as his loving husband was by his side.

“Will you go and get our presents for Magnolia?” Dedue continued, and Raphael nodded, but paused for a moment to wrap his arms around Dedue and kiss him tenderly.

When Raphael pulled away, Dedue was staring at him with a raised eyebrow, his cheeks flushed a slight pink in color, leaving Raphael a bit entranced by the beautiful sight. “Raphael?”

“Ah, right, I’ll go get them now!” Raphael said quickly, and he hurried off to their bedroom, before the urge to kiss his husband breathless prevented him from doing so.

After an evening of great food and family bonding, Maya retired for the night, as she was a bit worn out after her long journey. Raphael eventually found himself sitting in bed alongside Dedue, with Magnolia nestled in between them as they read some of her brand new books together.

“...and they lived...happily ever after!” Magnolia read, a beaming smile crossing her face as she closed the book. “That one was amazing! I wanna be a brave hero, just like the wyvern knights in the story!”

“You can do anything you want, Maggie!” Raphael said as he ruffled her hair, “You just gotta work hard for it and never give up.”

“Really?” Magnolia’s eyes went wide for a moment, before her eyebrows scrunched up thoughtfully. She went quiet and crossed her arms over her chest, and Raphael shared a glance with Dedue, who only shook his head and shrugged.

“Daddy! Papa!” Magnolia suddenly shouted, springing up onto her feet and turning around. She placed one hand firmly on her hip, and pointed her finger at her parents. “I know what I want for my birthday next year!”

“Uh, already?” Raphael blinked and cocked his head to one side, “But your birthday this year isn’t even over yet!”

“But this is important,” Magnolia said. Her gaze moved down to her feet, before her head jerked back up, an odd look of determination in her bright blue eyes.

“I want a baby wyvern!”

Raphael just stared at his daughter for a moment, completely dumbstruck. She wanted a what?

“M-Magnolia, sweetheart,” Dedue said, and Raphael turned to see that his husband’s face had paled slightly, and his jaw was set in a rare grimace. “That might not be possible…”

“Aww, why not?” Magnolia said, pouting as she crossed her arms over her chest, “I’ll be really good! I’ll make sure to never, ever do anything bad again!” Raphael turned his head to hide a goofy grin, and Dedue just sighed and shook his head.

“We will...talk about it.”

“Yay!”

“That is not a yes.”

Magnolia didn’t seem to mind, as she giggled and flopped back onto the bed, snuggling up against Raphael. She yawned sleepily and looked between her parents with a pleading expression.

“Papa, Daddy, can I sleep with you tonight? Pretty please?” Raphael chuckled and glanced at Dedue, who smiled softly and nodded.

“Of course. Just because it is still your special day.” Dedue said, and Magnolia let out a triumphant ‘hah’ as she wiggled under the covers and let Dedue tuck her in.

“Hehe, thanks,” she mumbled, yawning again as she curled up, her eyes slowly slipping shut, “I love you Daddy. I love you Papa. Today was the best...birthday...ever…” Her voice trailed off to some incoherent mumbling, and soon the birthday girl was sound asleep.

“Whew! She’s quite a handful sometimes!” Raphael said, his voice dropping to a whisper so as not to disturb Magnolia.

A low chuckle rumbled through Dedue’s chest, and he leaned over to press his forehead against Raphael’s. “I agree. She seemed to enjoy her birthday.”

“Oh yeah, I’m really glad she liked the books that I picked out for her. Er, but I didn’t think she’d get so attached to the wyvern riders like that…” Raphael scratched at his beard as a sheepish grin crossed his face, and Dedue shook his head.

“Maybe she will forget about wanting a wyvern by next year. She is far too young for that.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe if she still wants to be a wyvern rider when she’s a lot older, we can look into it for her.”

“We will see.”

Raphael could sense the apprehension in Dedue’s tone, so he leaned over to place a chaste kiss on his lips. Dedue hummed contently as he returned the kiss, and when Raphael broke the kiss, his golden eyes gazed deep into Dedue’s beautiful seafoam green, and a swell of warmth flooded through his chest.

“Thank you, Dedue,” Raphael said, a tender smile crossing his face as he caressed Dedue’s cheek with the back of his hand, “for loving me, and Magnolia. For making me the happiest man in the world for all these years that we’ve been together. I didn’t really think that I could be this happy. Sometimes I think I might explode or something!”

Dedue’s eyes widened slightly, before he chuckled and placed his hand over Raphael’s. Dedue’s gaze never left Raphael’s as he lifted his hand to his mouth and placed a kiss on his knuckles, before entwining their fingers together.

“My darling sunshine, I should be the one thanking you.” Dedue’s fingers brushed over Raphael’s wedding ring, and Raphael noticed that his husband’s eyes had become quite misty. “I once did not care for my own life, but you were the one to show me how precious my life truly was, and is, and will always be. I do not think I would be as happy as I am now without you by my side, helping me raise our beautiful daughter.”

“Aw, hon, you’re making me blush,” Raphael teased, and Dedue laughed as they kissed once more, and they settled down on the bed, making sure that Magnolia had enough room between them.

“I love you, Dedue.” Raphael whispered.

“And I love you, Raphael. Always.”

They shared one final kiss goodnight, and Raphael gave little Magnolia a peck on her forehead, before he extinguished the candle on the nightstand and closed his eyes. He had no trouble slipping into a pleasant slumber, and that might have had something to do with the fact that he was snuggled up closely with the two people who would always make him the happiest man in the world.