"So tell me, Eliwood, when can we expect an heir?" Every visit he asked the same question, and every time Eliwood blushed and stammered and told him to be quiet while Ninian tried to laugh it off as Hector just being Hector.

This time, though, their answer would be quite different.

Ninian smiled as she smoothed her gown over the barely-visible bump of her abdomen, it had been eight weeks since she'd learned and told Eliwood the good news. She cupped her hands over where the beginnings of the child lay, their child...she wondered if it would be a boy or a girl, but every now and then the image of a red-haired young man would flash through her mind.

"Ninian?" Eliwood asked as he poked his head in the door, rousing her from her reverie. "Are you almost ready? They'll be here soon."

"Ah, I'm coming!" she said, pinning her shawl in place and following him to the gates. Barely a moment later the guards announced the arrival of Lord Hector and Lady Farina, and the two couples greeted each other warmly.

"I'll have tea prepared, Lord Eliwood," a servant girl said, and Eliwood nodded.

"Thank you, Mistelle."

The usual small talk commenced, and Ninian realized she was almost itching for Hector to ask his usual question. Finally, after the quartet calmed down from laughing at one of Farina's jokes, he did.

"So tell me, Eliwood, when can..."

"...we expect an heir?" the other three chimed in, and Hector gave them a look.

"Hey, it's a valid question!" he protested. "Well?"

Eliwood grinned.

"As a matter of fact, Hector, you can expect one in about seven months," he answered smoothly. Hector's eyes widened; he looked over to Ninian, and she smiled serenely.

"It's true," she said. "I'm going to have a baby." Hector seemed put off by the fact that for one he'd been unable to fluster them...and then, he grinned widely and clapped Eliwood on the back.

"Well, it's about time!" he proclaimed.

"I'd say!" Farina added as she wrapped a surprised Ninian up in a bear hug. "Congratulations, you two!"

"Ahaha, thank you, Lady Farina..." Ninian said.

"So, Hector," Eliwood ventured, "when can we expect some good news from you two?" Hector turned bright red, sputtered, and frowned with embarrassment as hs realized the tables had been turned.

"We're...working on it!" he insisted. "Right, Farina?"

"Yes, but we could be working harder, don't you think?" she asked with a bit of a playful tone, and Hector's blush deepend as he glared at his old friend.

"I'm gonna get you for this, Eliwood. Mark my words," he threatened as Mistelle arrived with the tea.

*

When they next met four months later, Hector was grinning proudly and Farina seemed a bit rounder than she had the last time.

"Well, I suppose congratulations are in order," Eliwood said.

"Yep. And remember, we're gonna pit our sons against each other someday, and we'll see who's stronger!" Hector said, and Farina rolled her eyes.

"And I still think it might be a girl," she insisted. Ninian smiled as she cradled her swollen stomach.

"Maybe you'll have twins?"

After a momentary sputter from Farina, they burst into peals of laughter.