Fate II

CCXII

Sitting in his seat with a cup of coffee in front of him, Sinbad heaved a heavy sigh. His face was pale but not as pale as it had been yesterday and bags hung heavily under his eyes. He threw his head against the back of the couch and once more, sighed haggardly, his soul escaping from his mouth. Ja'far glanced worriedly at Sinbad.

"Would you like me to blend some fresh herbs?" he asked, hoping that a refreshing scent might relieve him of his discomfort.

"Yeah, if you could," Sinbad said.

Ja'far left the room and within minutes, came back with a small pot, the scents from the crushed herbs filling the air. Breathing in the fresh scent of herbs with a hint of lavender and mint, Sinbad relaxed as he savored the momentary bliss of peacefulness and comfort. Laying against the couch, his amber eyes flickered with endearment as he thought of Lucy.

"Had I known it was this painful, I would've had Kaede do this during the first pregnancy," he said.

"Every woman's pregnancy is different," Ja'far said, noting how smooth Rurumu's pregnancies have been. "Not to mention, Lucy-sama had always hidden her pain well. Had it not been for her retainers, I'm afraid none of us would've noticed."

"Which is why I hate myself even more," Sinbad furrowed his brows. "I should've known."

"Sin..." Ja'far stared at him with a pitiful expression before blatantly stating, "yeah, you're right. You should've known."

"Hey!"

"But, isn't that the whole reason why you're doing it now?" Ja'far smiled. "You're doing it because you knew just how much discomfort she had to suffer."

Sinbad chuckled and leaned his back once more. "Yeah. It's the least I could do for her."

"I heard it's going to be even worse as the month progresses. After all, it's just the first month."

"Don't remind me," Sinbad's face paled considerably at the thought of it.

Ja'far laughed and Sinbad cried silently. Though he didn't regret his decision and didn't plan on taking it back no matter how painful it became, his heart weighed heavily in his chest as he thought of how Lucy had to bear with all this with a smile on her face. He wished he had noticed sooner and perhaps, he would've been able to relieve that pain in some way or another. Little did he know that just his presence itself and his devotion to her was enough for Lucy to bear through it all. He, who never left her side and tended to her lovingly since the start of her pregnancy, was the reason why she was able to bear it all.

"But, it isn't so great that it would immobilize me," Sinbad said, shifting around on the couch and making all sorts of weird positions, his head now hanging off the edge of the couch and his feet hanging from the top. "It's still bearable."

"Your physique is better than Lucy-sama's. It's to be expected."

"True," he said despondently. "She's always been frail. It always surprises me how she managed to carry two fetuses inside of her and give birth to such energetic kids."

"And it also surprises me how she's able to deal with a beast like you every night," Ja'far gazed with a blank, disgusted expression at Sinbad.

"Just kill me right now," Sinbad hid his face behind his hands, knowing full well that he wasn't the most lenient in bed.

But, his cheeks flushed a rosy hue and his amber eyes shone with sweet affection, whenever he saw that cute, lovely face she made as she begged achingly for him, he just couldn't help himself. Despite knowing that he should stop and let Lucy relax, he just kept on going and it was already amazing that Lucy hadn't banned him from the bedroom. Thinking of all that he caused her, he could only lament, crying silently while bearing the pain.