The door to his office clicked open without warning, Kassian not needing to turn around to know who would enter with abrupt certainty. At least his children attempted to be well behaved before disturbing his work, Keiran and Aoife often shouting ‘Daddy!’ In a complete sync only possible for twins before opening the office door for attention. Meanwhile, Eliana had taken after her other parents and began knocking as she opened the door. And why his little Claire was still struggling with object permanence, likely having surrendered her father to the mental void as soon as he was out of sight.
That only left one suspect to disturb Kassian’s peace and the sudden calloused hands coming to rest on Kassian’s hips at his standing desk confirmed it.
“Sian.” Kassian murmured, voice soft like the light filtering through the window.
His husband responded dutifully with a grunt, a hello muttered against skin as Sian kissed his husband’s jawline.
“ ‘orning handsome. I haven’t seen you all day-“
Between jaw kisses and being poked by stubble Kassian glanced at the clock on his desk.
It was 2:43 pm.
Kassian got out of bed at 9 am.
The vexed sigh at his husband’s time management was cut of by a greedy hand trailing forth to untuck his shirt from his pants.
Ah. So that’s why Sian came to see him.
A hand that was previously on a keyboard comes down to grab his husband’s hand with the intent of resting it on a more chaste spot, Only for Sian to deftly interlace their fingers together, his touch warm and comforting in a way Sian knows Kass loves. Peppering kisses with a smile along Kassian’s neck line.
Oh that bastard.
Just as Sian moved half a step forward to press and grind his body against his husband’s (did
he warm up his entire body on purpose?) Kassian replied sharply. “No.”
A grumble more age appropriate for one of their children escaped Sian’s throat, the pouting immediately commencing.
“Eh? Why not? We should have like, thirty minutes before the kids wake up-“
The hand that was left on the keyboard reaches over to flick Sian on his forehead, the gruff Irishman immediately acting disproportionately as if he was dying from that slight mumbling something under his breath in Gaelic.
Kassian flicked him a second time for that.
“OI-! Hey- what was that one for?!? I didn’t do anything!”
“I may not speak Gaelic, but I understand tone. Behave yourself, I have a report I need to finish for a client.”
With great effort to pry his hand away from Sian’s Kassian goes back to typing away as his personal heater of a husband laments his rejected affections. There’s more murmuring in Gaelic, but with a much softer tone. Kassian reserves any further flicks, for now.
Silence settles over the manor as Sian’s pouting slowly dies down and turns to affections once more. Hands unable to handle idleness rub small circles on Kassian’s stomach as he types away. The chaste affections allowed as long as Sian stays over his shirt. His husband in turn rests his head in the crook of Kassian’s neck, taking in the scent of his husband's cologne mixed with tobacco. It’s nice. It’s as analogous to ‘home’ for Sian as a warm meal cooking on a stove is for others. Sian’s own bit of home in a conveniently spoonable package.
Home. It's a nice thought. A dream that Sian has longed for since his death, feverishly defending the last remnant of his old one in Aile for so long now. It only took 300 years for Sian to realize instead of defending scraps he could build something new for himself worthy of protecting.
Slowly Sian raises his head, propping his chin up on his husband’s shoulder as he blearily stares at the titan of a document Kassian is working on. Sian’s attempt at reading it was foiled two seconds in when he saw the word ‘monetarism’. Still rubbing slow circles into his husband’s stomach, Sian allows his mind to wander.
Kassian pretends the hot breath on his neck doesn’t send a shiver up his spine, forcing any rising blush to sink to his feet as he continues to work.
“Hey....” Sian begins, interrupting peaceful silence as he is prone to do.
Kassian doesn’t cease his work as he hums in acknowledgment, his tone trailing up at the end in an unspoken question.
“We should have more kids.”
Sian, abrupt as ever, states his opinion with conviction as the typing finally ceases, Kassian processing what his partner said before sputtering out an elegant response.
“Wh- I- what? You want more?”
Sian nodded as he continued rubbing circles on Kassian’s tummy, thinking to himself this is
where a womb would be. If Kass had one.
“Yeah, ‘course. Don’t you think Claire will be lonely? I mean the twins got each other but Claire should grow up with someone she’s close to in age- don’t you think so?”
Kassian’s head finally turns to look at his husband, shock evident on his normally pristine features. “You want another child? No- no, there’s Cathair- she’ll have her cousins.”
Sian huffs, glancing a bit at his husband before squishing him by settling more of his weight on Kassian. “I mean- I’d like more than one...”
“I may regret asking this but....” Kassian swallowed, forcing his voice to stay even and not crack. “How many kids do you want?”
For a moment, that makes Sian pause and think. Kassian nervously glances over as even the soft circles on his stomach stopped as Sian focuses solely on this intense mental calculus.
“Hm... er.... I had seven siblings so... one in each of their memories... and then a friend.... And a third in for good measure...” Sian lifts his fingers up from Kassian’s stomach murmuring numbers as he works out loud . Setting his hands down after a moment far too long for simple arithmetic “So... about twenty-six I think. Gotta throw in a couple extra just in case, ya know?”
Sian smiled warmly up at his husband, satisfied that he answered Kassian’s lingering question only to be met by his normally statuesque model of a husband slack jawed at his proposal. A small croak resembling an attempt at speech dies in the back of Kassian’s throat as his mind attempts to process that many mini-Sian’s running rampant. A red blush previously repressed rises to Kassian’s cheeks as all the blood in his body simultaneously runs to his head. Gods, the mere thought of that many analogs is making Kassian dizzy. A hand raises to hold Kassian’s suddenly spinning head. The logistics of that many children...
“I- I.... I hate that I know you’re being serious....”
Sian snorts at his husband’s expression, finding the resemblance to a ripe tomato cute. Taking advantage of the lack of an answer Sian is quick to shove an idle hand down Kassian’s pants, belt be damned. He raises his head, swiftly kissing his lover’s nose as a mischievous grin settles on his face with an insinuating eyebrow wiggle.
“Serious as a heart attack. So, what do you say? We better get to work now to keep our numbers up, don’t you think?”
Despite his attractive eyebrow wiggle, the speed Sian is thrown out of Kassian’s office would put a bolt of Henna’s lighting to shame. A solid click locking the door between them, followed by the sound of some sort of furniture put against the entryway in a flustered flurry.
Sian couldn’t help but stare blankly at the office he was just in, expression confused as he sits on his ass in the hallway.
....Was it something he said?