Blehhhhh. Nazonal broke free of the spell of laughter to make a sound of rumbling grossness, a shiver visibly running down their spine as Nero unceremoniously began to slob and lick all over her face. It was damp, a little strange, and felt very very right amongst the energy of that goofy situation. Well two could play at this game. They reached around and tried to grab at the back of his head just below his ear to hold his head near theirs. And feverishly Naz began to try her hand at licking all over his face and making extra sure to get his fur run the wrong way and sit all funny. Hold still you got sometime on your face right... Everywhere. They tucked their legs in and tried to push up on his belly and topple him into the grass beside her.

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Nero snorted. "Don't you bleh me like you don't want me to keep going," he grumbled, feigning an arrogant sort of hurt that could only be rectified with more sloppy kisses. He certainly hoped she would wash off before returning home to Sparrow, because there were some things worse than finding your significant other in bed with someone else. For example, finding them with slobber and drool all over their face. Somehow it was both far more innocent and far more intimate, but regardless, it was weird. And it was very much them.

He let them pull his head close, unaware of the danger he was in until they started slurping his fur in all different directions. "Awh, fuck," he whined. "That's so rude, I would never do that to you." But he laughed with her and flopped where she directed him, hitting the ground with a soft thud. "Hey Naz?" he said, peering over at them from the corner of his eyes.

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Nazonal snicker-laughed, perfectly satisfied with what they considered to be a perfect retaliation to being licked and slobbered upon by Nero. But for good measure hopefully before he flopped down to the ground beside her they could smooth out a few of the worst cowlicks that she'd given him.

She rolls a bit onto her side and pulled her limbs up near their face, tucking them close and then resting their head down with chin to her forearm. Yeah? They've fallen into warm and happy contentment, they weren't looking at Nero only because their eyes were closed and she was focusing on each inhale of scents. On the sounds around her and every not visual indicator that they were in each other's company.

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He let his attention drift between Nazonal and the sky, wondering what thoughts were going through their head. What he wouldn't give to try and peek in there for a second, see what made Nazonal just so.. Nazonal. The lion watched as they made themselves comfortable, murmuring a soft acknowledgment of his question. It was stupid, he knew, but the man was curious. "Have you ever wanted cubs?" he asked, letting his head fall back into the grass and immediately averting his gaze back to the sky. Where he couldn't see the look of judgment on her face.

"And if we.. if Sparrow.. uh, would you ever think about having them? With.. with me, maybe. Probably. I mean, maybe. Yes. Like, you and me. As.. as parents, together. Maybe." He pressed himself as much as possible into the ground, wishing it would swallow him whole. "Just, 'cause, I think you'd be a really good parent." Nero cleared his throat.

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I didn't think about that for a long time. Nazonal had never been incredibly anti-cub but they just felt like something so far away from her for a long time. It was her parents who had kids, the old lions and it had been hard to view herself as being old enough when sometimes she felt so inexperienced, so small and powerless. But after seeing you with yours and Asteria with hers I have thought about it. A lot. I'd love to have kids. Seeing her friends flourish and the love that they were capable of feeling for their kids? And just how sweet and amazing children were? Nazonal didn't realize until now how badly they wanted some of their own.

Nazonal's eyes slowly opened to watch Nero, and then they leaned over to rest their head beside his, exhaling softly. She and I have talked about starting a family, hell we've had actual dreams about kids of our own. Seen them running around the jungle, sometimes I swear I can still see signs of them later. Her turn to feel silly, her turn to expect a judgmental gaze or some weird side eye. But we can't do it together... That dream seemed impossible even for Naz, even as they knew what their fathers had been gifted it seemed far too much. Not her and Sparrow, lion and leopard. Their voice filled quite suddenly with a somber tone, like a ball of sadness got caught up in their throat at this impossible hurdle. But with you I could. A bright note came back into Naz's voice. This, them didn't just mean the chance to cuddle and love on one another but meant the potential. I would have a family with you.

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Although nothing had ever made Nazonal turn away from him before, Nero couldn't help but wonder if it was too much, too fast. It was only a hypothetical question, of course. His own cubs weren't even a year old and still had a fuckton of trauma to process in losing their mother to the point where he wondered whether or not it was just downright cruel to even murmur Nazonal's name in front of them. How would they take it, he wondered, if one day he returned with that lion from the jungle and told them all there was someone else? Would Alastor hate him? Nero had done his best to show the boy what it meant to love someone, love a mate, and he feared how he might react to learn that love was more complicated than he'd made it seem. Would his daughters fear being replaced by their significant others? He had to do right by his children somehow and he felt, beyond all else, that he could only do that by being honest.

Hearing Nazonal explain their woes made him sad, but there wasn't much he could do to help them out aside from.. well, you know, being a donor of sorts. It was something he would have done, sure, but it felt awkward given that he also intended on marrying the lion next to him. "I'm sorry, Naz." He chewed his bottom lip, wishing he had something else to make it all better for them. The shift in her tone made his ears perk up, especially as she said she would have a family with him. Nero beamed. "And I would have a family with you." And Sparrow, too, by proxy.. but he left that out for now.

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They reach a paw over and seek out his, to grab and to hold onto as they began to speak again. Hey it's nothing to be sorry over, it'll happen somehow. Besides I have it on good authority that adopted kids are cooler. Nazonal tried to sound confident that her dream with Sparrow would only be a matter of time. A bit harder and less fun work than it could be to make children but it would only need time. And with him? Maybe less time than Nazonal was imagining.

Can I ask you something about kids? Their face looks to be one of concentration, a slight serious air but Nazonal's body was growing more relaxed on the ground beside him. How are you not terrified every second of the day that they'll be hurt?

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Nero's frown blossomed into a grin as Nazonal commented on the magnificence of adopted children. "You've got a point there." He paused for a minute to consider. "What were the odds four orphans all showed up to the same place and found each other?" Hiccup and Asteria being the other two, of course. "And how did Hiccup just.. flourish without a parent at all?" That was the most intriguing thing about him. Maybe he hiccuped a lot, but the dude was more well rounded than anyone else Nero knew. Weird. It was all weird.

He glanced at her as she asked about cubs, but he couldn't help but laugh softly. "You always worry. You're always a little terrified. You're worried they're not getting out enough, then that theyre out too much. Are they making friends? The right friends? Are they getting bullied? Do they hate me?" He sighed. "You just.. you learn that the worry is just how you are now. You'll always be protective over them, but sometimes there's nothing you can do. You have to let them be themselves, go out and get hurt, make friendships and break them. But you always worry." Unfortunately.

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Very small odds indeed. They rolled a bit onto their side so they could position their paws together really close, but a small gap left between them. Odd approximately this big. I have no idea, can't he like barely climb trees? Hiccup, who Naz had to admit she did not know nearly as well as Asteria and Nero, had always seemed immensely kind. Like almost frustratingly good and precious, it made you wonder why you couldn't always be so good when it was easy for him to be sweet and kind even without supposed "good" parental influences. For the likes of them, who felt like they were struggling sometimes, drowning, it was scary to be reminded that it might just be them.

She begins to look just a little scared as he goes on about all of the possible things to be scared of or worried about. They'd only gone so far to think about kids getting physical hurt but all of this sounds much worse. What if the other kids were mean to them? Naz couldn't beat up a kid... but what if they were mean to hers? How were they going to protect them from that? That sounds fucking exhausting. They say with a deep exhale. They still seem worth it but man.

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Nero chuckled. "Yeah, no, Hiccup can't climb trees at all. He gets scared once he's up there. Heights, I guess." The lion shifted his weight and lifted a paw to idly itch at his tattered ear, always unable to leave it alone in the aftermath. It still felt sore, weirdly enough, kinda like it would never heal fully. He didn't dwell on it, just had a tendency to itch and scratch at it a bit. "The first time we met he was stuck up in a tree. I tried to help him down but he panicked halfway and fell. Broke my leg." He smiled fondly at the memory despite how, ahem, painful it was.

"It is exhausting." Especially when you were going through it alone, but Nazonal wouldn't have that issue. They'd have Sparrow, so he wasn't terribly concerned. "And your life is never the same again. You're always worrying, always teaching, always on. They'll irritate you. They'll make you cry." He sucked in a breath. "And then they'll smile at you and giggle and tell you that they love you and it's all worthwhile. They'll bring you sticks and bugs and look so proud of themselves for having hunted that you can't do anything but want to squeeze 'em to death. You watch as they grow up and learn and become their own selves and it's just.. been incredible. Insanely hard. Insanely frustrating. Insanely beautiful." If only Ghyslaine were around to enjoy it just as much.

"My legs are getting stiff. Up for a walk?" Nero asked, studying the lion curiously before turning to guide them on a (hopefully) uneventful excursion.

exit

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