Prologue

He wasn't sure why he was afraid of talking to his husband.

He was never afraid of talking to his husband.

Yet, there he stood outside those massive steel doors, wishing he could just turn tail and sprint down the hall, out of the capitol building, and right back up the mountain to their mansion so he could hide under the blankets.

Maybe it was because, somehow, he knew what was going to come out of his mouth. He knew what his husband was going to say to him, but he felt this insane urge to try. In fact, he'd felt the urge to sit his husband down and talk to him about... having children, for a while now.

It was insane, he knew that.

After all, children? That was a huge step, especially for the both of them. While most of their friends and family had children of their own, it was a different story to have their own children. If someone had asked him ten years ago if he wanted children, he would've laughed and said he was happy as everyone's aunty. But that was just it; he loved children. He loved buying gifts, playing with them, watching them play and explore the world, and grow into actual people with their own opinions and goals. Gods, it was an adventure he wanted to have with them.

And, it was nice; being everyone's favorite aunty. Especially for his niece. He loved buying her presents, taking her to exotic places on the islands, listening to her adventures as she grew older. She'd grown from a rambunctious little girl to a beautiful young female so fast, so well. But now she'd outgrown his gifts, his little stories, her little outfits. She was a person with her own thoughts and feelings, and he loved that for her. At the same time, his heart ached because he was watching all of this happen to her from afar.

He wanted to raise his own children. He wanted to join them closer on their journey to adulthood. He wanted to affect someone's life like a parent. He wanted to love, hold, cradle, wipe away tears. Hell, he was ready for straight up temper tantrums. Lords knew his husband had his own special kind.

But that was just it.

The roadblock to this fantasy of having children.

His husband.

And he hated thinking of him like that.

He adored his husband. The male was so much more than just a husband to him. He was a gift of the Source, his soulmate, his pet, his best friend.

But he wasn't stupid either. His husband had a lot of issues. Granted, he did incredibly well over the years in dealing with most of his issues, but if there was one issue his husband hadn't let up on, it was his extreme discomfort with children. Even to his own niece, he treated her with caution. Especially now that she was grown.

According to his husband, children were just as cruel and twisted as adults. They just got away with it better because they were children. It made sense he would feel that way considering the way he grew up, but he still couldn't see the kindness and love in his niece. It was heartbreaking.

He never hugged his niece, never cradled her, never told her he loved her. As a child, she adored swinging around him and dancing at his feet, dressing him up and having tea parties with him, even though he sat stone still with a stern face the whole time.

And it was even more heartbreaking as his niece gave up on trying to befriend him. As she grew older, she stepped back from playing with him and now, she rarely spoke to him, barely spared him a glance.

It brought tears to Akin's eyes as he stood outside the door, his arms folded tightly over his chest. He swallowed thickly, lowering his head.

It'd been about nine years since Amenti had last spent time with Hannibal. She certainly seemed to understand Hannibal's apprehensiveness, but she wasn't going to actively pursue him as an uncle any further. It made Akin want to weep. Amenti was such a beautiful, friendly, and wonderful female. She adored her family, followed her fathers everywhere, even as an adult. She defended both of them to the death. And she defended Hannibal too, but she would never go near him, if for nothing more than to avoid making him uncomfortable.

It was so frustrating.

Because Akin knew; Akin knew how wonderful and beautiful Hannibal was. He adored Hannibal's smile that was slightly crooked on one side, the way his fangs glinted in the light, the way his mismatched eyes lit up with delight. He loved Hannibal's sarcastic sense of humor; albeit not when it was directed toward him anyway. He loved Hannibal's genuine care and concern for their pantheon, for their kingdom, even for other family members. Hell, he'd fucking caught the guy giving Menoetius a very stiff, but sincere hug once when they had been having a private conversation and Akin had happened to pass by.

He knew Hannibal was capable of great love and affection.

But Hannibal never directed that toward children, not even his own niece.

That had to change, Akin thought desperately. It had to. And maybe this was it. Maybe Hannibal would feel more comfortable around a child he himself raised. That way, he knew he could trust them. While he couldn't comprehend Hannibal's distrust and fear in Amenti, maybe his own child would change his mind.

It was a pathetic attempt, an honestly insane grasping at straws.

But he wanted a child so badly that he woke in the middle of the night in tears because his dreams were just that; dreams. He couldn't tell his husband during those nights as he cradled him in confusion. He couldn't tell Hannibal that he had dreams of having children.

At least, he couldn't before.

Now, he couldn't contain it any longer.

It was time to have the talk.

Whether Hannibal wanted to or not.

So, with that thought in mind, Akin held his breath and opened the door into his husband's office. A pristine modern office with driftwood accents and a few subtle beach side decorations that were only there because Akin himself had put them there. To the left was a wall of floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the paradise that was Atlantis. His husband loved those windows, loved standing there and staring out over his kingdom with a fondness he never thought he'd see in his husband's eyes.

Hannibal himself sat at his massive steel desk across the room, typing away at his computer with the dual monitors, revealing all sorts of building plans for a new section of the island set up to be apartments and condos. He appeared to be on the phone with someone and spared Akin an apologetic glance, which Akin took with a smile and nod.

It gave him the opportunity to admire his husband... his King.

Hannibal, King of Atlantis, ruler of the Atlantean pantheon, the true heir to the throne, son of Lea, goddess of curses and battle strategy.

Yeah, he had a long title and didn't really appreciate the full introduction, even in formal situations.

Still, his husband was a sight to behold. He certainly wasn't suited to an office, that was for damn sure. His husband was too muscular, too buff, to be stuck behind a desk and computer, but there he sat anyway, looking surprisingly comfortable. Of course, a suit was asking too much, and no one wore suits in Atlantis.

No, he'd dressed his husband this morning, like he did every morning. It wasn't that Hannibal wasn't capable; he just had fun dressing him up and Hannibal liked not having to waste his own time picking out clothing. Hell, if Hannibal was left to dress himself, he'd probably show up to work without a shirt, maybe a pair of underwear, and his hair still knotted from rolling in his sleep.

A simple black button up with short rolled up sleeves, and of course, Hannibal left it mostly unbuttoned to a gray tank top underneath, that matched his black slacks. His sleek black hair was done in a loose ponytail over his shoulder. It was the closest thing to business casual the guy would ever wear. If Akin tried to put him in something a bit more formal, the guy would complain the whole time or just straight up rip it off.

Besides, Akin decided, his husband didn't suit that business office niche anyway.

His male was simply too warrior-like.

And he loved it.

"Sorry," Hannibal said after a moment as he hung up, his voice a deep baritone that made Akin want to shiver with delight, "Had to take a call about the condos. Apparently, you need building permits even when you're the fucking King of Atlantis." Akin smirked at that, approaching the front of the desk.

"Well. It's not like you own the land."

"I do. It's where my mother's house used to be before she moved in with Zetnos."

"Huh. Go figure. What'd your mom say?"

"She said to curse them with hepatitis, but that's too much work," Hannibal muttered, even though his lip twitched in amusement. Akin laughed a little, then cleared his throat as he watched Hannibal continue typing away.

"So, can we talk for a second?" He asked. Hannibal glanced at him, then back at the computer screen.

"Sure."

"No, I mean, can you stop doing what you're doing so we can talk?" Akin pressed. He really didn't want Hannibal to half-ass this conversation. It was going to be pretty heavy and he wanted his lover's full attention. Hannibal frowned a little at that, glancing at him again as he finished up what he was typing to sit back in his seat.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Akin shook his head.

"It's nothing bad. I just..." How was he supposed to put this delicately?

"I want children."

Yeah, no, sure, just go for it, Akin decided. He wasn't good at making small talk anyway.

"No." Hannibal's answer was immediate. In fact, so deadpan and flat that Akin was frozen for a second because it rarely came out of Hannibal's mouth, especially in a tone like that, directed at him.

Hannibal went back to typing.

Akin cleared his throat.

"Hannibal--"

"I said no," Hannibal replied simply, as if that were the end of it, "If that's all you wanted to talk about, that's all I have to say. I have to get this permit written up." Akin blinked a few times, confused as he stepped away from the desk.

He honestly didn't know what to say.

He didn't know what to do.

So he just turned around and walked out of the office. The doors closed quietly behind him, shutting out the tippity tap of Hannibal's fingers on the keys. He stood there, staring across the hall in stunned silence.

No.

He said no, Akin realized. It had taken him a full five minutes to realize what had just happened, but instead of marching back in there and making Hannibal talk to him, he found himself tearing up.

No.

I said no.

And that was that.