#aster ;; verse ;; unintended creation

[ironbloodcd]

Sleepy Mama is sleepy, and has unintentionally fallen asleep against Aster despite claiming she wasn't exhausted. It's, perhaps, the biggest indicator that Lumine is completely comfortable around Aster, as the only other person she has ever done this with since losing her homeworld and family is Aether. She's even burrowing her face into his arm and clinging to him, much like she would her twin brother, and mumbling something about 'shopping.' Seems her plans are already set for the forthcoming day! // Lumine to her Baby Daddy. c:

Unprompted Ask - Always Accepting!

@tenebriism

He'd suspected that she might doze off on her own, though Aster knows better than to try to argue the point with Lumine. She's a stubborn one, though even that only registers as another of her charms, as far as he's concerned. Now that she's dozed off against him, the homunculus finds himself distracted from his reading, the novel that he'd been immersed in set aside in favor of enjoying this quiet moment between the two of them.

Careful so as not to disturb her sleep, Aster slowly leans back upon the couch, pulling the former Abyss Princess with him until she's laying upon his chest, one of his arms tucked around her. The other reaches up for a blanket that sits folded over the back of the couch, pulling it down to cover the two of them before he allows his own eyes to flutter shut, a deep breath taken in.

She feels so warm. A content sigh slips from the artificial man's lips while a hand slips up to thread to strands of soft, blonde hair. Her smaller form seems to fit perfectly against his own, a fact which coaxes a small smile to Aster's face as he listens to the calming sound of Lumine's breathing and the occasional murmur in her sleep. It's moments like this that Aster feels as if his life is as perfect as he could ever ask for, regardless of the occasional struggles that occasionally came up. They were nothing that couldn't be dealt with, nothing that the two of them couldn't work their way through.

Aster's not sure as to what he'd done to deserve such a life, but he wouldn't give it up for anything.

[ironbloodcd]

" Aster . . . ASTER ! " Her dainty form rushes down the hallway towards the room they both shared ( and she, likely, should PACE herself, but the definition is as foreign to her as alcoholic moderation is to a certain bard ), and the moment she's within reach of Aster, she's tugging at his arm to pull him closer. " I felt . . . by the skies, I cannot explain it, Aster! Oh, I hope it happens again. Here, right here! " Lumine guides his palms to either side of her stomach, somewhat comforted by that familiar, cooling effect his touch seems to have against her warm skin, and just as she had attempted to explain, there's a slight brush of something against his left hand, followed by another. " That one . . . was even stronger than the last, I swear it. You felt it, right!? Aster, PLEASE, tell me you did, because it wasn't purposeful. I'm not losing my mind, am I!?"

Unprompted Ask - Always Accepting!

@tenebriism

          As always, the sound of Lumine calling for him has Aster’s attention almost immediately, eyes lifting from where he’d been straightening the sheets of their shared room. Though Lumine was spending far more time home now that her pregnancy was progressing further along, it was still Aster who took care of most of the household chores, with the homunculus more than content to continue looking after their home. After all, Lumine could still strain herself while cleaning if she wasn’t careful.

     Though the lack of urgency in her tone kept him from becoming too alarmed, brows still rose with curiosity as the former Abyss Princess hurried over to him. “Felt what? Are you alright?”

     He got his answer as she led his palms to the swell of her tummy, a soft movement from within her stomach causing him to blink with surprise before his eyes widened slightly. He knew that unborn babies moved about within their mothers’ wombs and that it was quite normal - but to feel it himself was far different than knowing about it in theory. His lips were soon parting, an expression of awe crossing his features as he focused on the little ‘kicks’ that could be felt from inside Lumine’s belly. For not the first time since Albedo had diagnosed her condition, Aster felt a warmth welling up inside of him, the knowledge of what was to come causing excitement to bubble up within him.

     They were going to be parents.                He was going to be a father.

     “I... I felt it, Lu,” he assured her, a soft chuckle escaping him as his eyes, which had been fixated upon her baby bump, rose to meet with hers, a wide grin drawn across his face, “You’re quite sane, love. The baby’s just moving - ‘kicking’, as a lot of people call it. You remember with Aether and the twins, right?”

     It felt so surreal when it was happening to them though - when it was their child letting its parents know that they were there and that, soon enough, the two of them would get to meet him or her. Feeling a warmth pricking at the corners of his eyes, Aster draws one hand back to wipe away the moisture, though he can’t bring himself to remove the other - not when he hopes to feel a few more of those little greetings from their unborn son or daughter as they continued to grow within the safety of their mother’s body. Drawing himself closer, the homunculus presses a quick kiss to the blonde woman’s lips, then her cheek, her brow - hoping that each little gesture was enough to convey everything that he was feeling in that moment.

     Somehow, he doubted it, though words seemed even less adequate right now.

     “I guess that you could say that they’re telling us hello from in there. Maybe they’re just as excited to meet us - what do you think?”

[ironbloodcd]

It had hit her mid-way through a commission she was carrying out with the aid of Albedo. She'd felt OFF even prior to accepting the simple request, yet the nature of the task -- a delivery of some much needed medications to an elderly woman in Mondstadt -- couldn't be disregarded simply because she felt slightly under the weather.

The brunt of it came just as she was passing off the paper bag to the old woman, who seemed VERY eager to shower them in gratitude even as Lumine tried to urgently, yet politely, conclude the transaction. The heaviness in her stomach made it difficult to breathe, all of a sudden, and the longer she watched this innocent old woman beam up at them like the Archons themselves had graced her doorstep this fine day, the faster everything seemed to spin, and the quicker the dread began to set in.

" I'm sorry, if . . . you could excuse me, ma'am. " Just barely, does she make it behind the trunk of a tree, before the lovely breakfast Aether had prepared for her just earlier comes back up, harshly and suddenly, spurring Albedo to step in and finally end the commission so he may help Lumine home.

--- yet, it doesn't stop there.

The periods of sudden illness and lack of appetite are not so frequent that it's cause for panic, but it's enough to where Albedo deems it fit to investigate in hopes of offering some relief, if able. Just a harmless checkup, nothing more, despite Lumine's attempts to free herself from the scrutiny of his sometimes intense experiments and tests, with paltry reassurances that it was likely just her body still acclimating to being away from the Abyss Order.

How wrong she was.

" Aster. "

Albedo calls out for him from the room they had temporarily inhabited, covered in various tools of both the alchemic and medical nature. Lumine lay with her backside atop one of the beds, an arm pressed to her eyes to fight off another round of irritating nausea as Albedo took to cleaning his hands.

" I thought I should tell you both at the same time, as I can only assume you are the other half of this development. " Padding his palms upon a nearby towel, he doesn't turn to face the other experiment.

Perhaps he should, with the bomb he proceeds to drop.

" Congratulations, you're expecting a child. "

Unprompted Ask - Always Accepting!

The thrilling conclusion to Aster and Lumine night of condomless fun~

@tenebriism

     It was hard not to be worried, despite Lumine claiming that she was fine. Between the vomiting and inability to eat, Aster seriously wondered if she’d contracted something that he should have been concerned about. Even making lighter dishes that would be easier on her stomach didn’t seem to help, and to say that Aster had been relieved when Albedo had insisted on giving her a checkup would have been an understatement. If there was anyone he trusted to make sure that the former Abyss Princess was alright, it was the alchemist who had created him, for Albedo was nothing if not thorough in his investigations.

     He’d taken to anxiously pacing just outside the room that his beloved and creator were in, doing his best to push down the nagging worry that tugged at the back of his mind. Worst case scenarios flashed through his mind while a weight grew in his stomach, churning into an anxious nausea. He disliked feeling so helpless in the face of an ailment that could very well be putting Lumine’s life in danger.

     If something happened to her, something that he was unable to prevent--

     “Aster.” The sound of Albedo calling his name pulled the younger homunculus from his thoughts and he was immediately following the alchemist back into the room. His feet carried him to Lumine’s side, concern written clearly upon Aster’s features as he reached for her free hand, taking hold of it between the both of his. She looked absolutely miserable, and it was hard not to feel useless in the face of whatever was ailing her.

     What Albedo said next, however, was hardly anything to be feared - quite the opposite, as teal eyes widened with realization as he stared at his creator’s back for several moments before dropping his gaze back to the nauseated woman laying before him. Congratulations, you’re expecting a child.

     A child. A baby. Lumine wasn’t sick - she was pregnant.

     “We’re... ?” Sounding as if he hardly dared to believe it, Aster wondered if he might have been dreaming. The weight of Lumine’s hand in his own felt far too real for that, however, as did the way that his pulse had begun to pound in his ears. He should have realized sooner, all things considered - they’d stopped using protection using their lovemaking sessions weeks ago, and all of Lumine’s symptoms certainly pointed towards a woman who was with child. Perhaps it was because he’d worried, secretly, that he might not be able to father an infant.

     Obviously, that fear could be laid to rest now though. The concern that he’d been feeling earlier was rapidly being replaced by something else, a joy unlike any that he’d experienced before that threatened to overtake him completely. He’d no reason to stop it either as he dropped Lumine’s hand in favor of cupping her cheeks, his lips peppering her face with small, excited kisses as he resisted the urge to just scoop her straight up into his arms - that, after all, wouldn’t likely be any good for her nausea.

     “A baby - Archons, Lu, we’re... we’re having a baby!” Laughter bubbled forth from the synthetic human just before his lips slanted across hers to deliver a deep kiss, filled with all the warmth and happiness that seemed to be overflowing from him. He lingered there until they both needed air, his brow coming to rest against hers before as one of his hands slid up to stroke through her hair. There were so many things that he wanted to say, and yet it felt as if there were no words to describe it, nothing that could even some close.

     So he settled for that which he knew how to convey and hoped that Lumine understood just how deeply he felt.

     “Gods, I... thank you, Lumine. Thank you so... so much.” Another kiss as he felt something warm and wet stinging at the corners of his eyes, “I love you so much, and I... I promise to always be here. I’ll always be here with you - with the both of you.”

     “I promise to make you as happy as you’ve made me -  I promise.”