Work Text:
Sigewinne could easily detect the joy radiating from the couple in her clinic. It was practically glowing off them like a second skin.
Furina and Neuvillette sat side by side, fingers woven together like they were afraid the other might float away. Her free hand cradled her swollen belly with the tenderness of someone protecting the most precious treasures in all of Teyvat—which, to be fair, she was.
It was their first pregnancy. And to absolutely everyone's shock, the former Hydro Archon and her stoic Iudex were expecting twins.
Sigewinne still remembered that first ultrasound like it was yesterday. The way the Melusine nurse had heroically kept her professional composure while the Hydro Sovereign himself crumpled to the floor like a puppet with cut strings, his face buried in Furina's thighs, shoulders heaving with uncontrollable sobs as he babbled something about "two" and "how" and "I'm not ready." Furina had simply smiled through her own teary eyes, stroking his silver hair and patting his back like he was a distressed sea otter until his breathing evened out.
Now, with Furina in her final trimester, the couple—for "safety reasons" (aka Neuvillette's anxiety)—wanted another ultrasound.
"We just want to ensure the twins are healthy," Neuvillette said, his regal composure betrayed by the parental worry etching soft lines across his brow.
Furina squeezed his hand, her smile radiant enough to power the entire Court of Fontaine. "Of course," she declared with the unshakeable confidence of someone who had once been worshipped as a god; "as the children of the Hydro Sovereign, I have no doubt they're perfectly healthy."
Neuvillette turned to her, something between adoration and mild panic flickering in his ancient eyes. "Y-You place too much faith in my genetics, my love." He lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a reverent kiss to her knuckles. "Let us not forget that you are human, Furina."
She waved a dismissive hand dramatically. "Being human does not make me—nor our children—frail, my dear dragon." Her tone was so utterly assured that he nearly felt silly for worrying. "But, of course—" she turned to Sigewinne with a wink— "we still plan to have the ultrasound today." She cupped Neuvillette's cheek, her thumb tracing the sharp line of his jaw. "We need to reassure this silly, wonderful, overprotective dragon that all is well."
Sigewinne watched them exchange soft glances and murmured affections.
"Just a few more months," she told herself. "Just a few more months."
"Right this way, Miss Furina." She gestured to the small bed tucked in the private corner of her clinic. "Please hike up your dress." She grabbed the gel bottle while Neuvillette hovered, helping Furina settle with careful attention.
The Melusine squeezed a generous dollop of cool gel across Furina's belly. For just a moment, she could have sworn she felt a tiny kick—or perhaps two tiny kicks—against her palm. Then she brought the probe to Furina's slick, rounded stomach and turned her gaze to the monitor, where the familiar grainy shapes of life swam into view.
Sigewinne turned back to the couple, her smile bright enough to rival the Fontaine sunlight filtering through the window.
"Your wife is right, Monsieur Neuvillette," she beamed, gesturing with her free hand to the screen. "As you can clearly see, the twins are perfectly healthy. There is absolutely no cause for concern."
Neuvillette released a breath he seemed to have been holding since the first trimester, his shoulders dropping an entire inch. "Thank you, Sigewinne. Truly."
Furina leaned her head against his shoulder, nuzzling into the warmth of him. "See? Perfectly healthy." She pressed a quick, affectionate peck to his cheek. "Our babies are all right!"
Sigewinne smiled warmly at the happy couple.
And then her hand slipped just a little. The gel made the probe slide, and suddenly—
Something on the screen caught her eye.
"What is it, Sigewinne?" Neuvillette's voice sharpened, concern flooding back into his features like a returning tide. "Your eyes grew wide just now. I-Is there something wrong?"
"Hold on," Sigewinne murmured, repositioning the probe with renewed focus, her gaze locked on the monitor. "I just want to be certain… Oh! I see it now!"
"W-What is it?" Furina's composure cracked like thin ice. "Is there something wrong with the twins?"
Sigewinne turned back to them, and her smile was so dazzling, so unexpected, that both parents went perfectly still.
"Oh, the twins are perfectly healthy, as I said," she assured them, her little Melusine eyes positively twinkling.
"Then… what's wrong?" Neuvillette asked, his voice teetering between relief and fresh panic.
Instead of answering, Sigewinne's smile somehow grew even wider.
"Congratulations to you both!" She pointed triumphantly at the monitor. "It appears you have a third baby on the way!"
"A-A third baby?!" the couple chorused in perfect, horrified harmony.
Sigewinne nodded cheerfully.
"S-So… triplets?" Furina's voice had gone slightly squeaky.
Sigewinne shook her head, her expression turning almost apologetically amused.
"No. It seems that during the course of your pregnancy…" She glanced at Neuvillette with something that might have been professional admiration, if Melusines could blush. "You got pregnant. Again."
The couple went silent—profoundly, achingly silent.
"So," Sigewinne clarified gently; "after Miss Furina gives birth to the twins, she will still be pregnant for a few more months."
Furina's eyes had grown to the size of dinner plates. "I-Is that even possible?!"
Sigewinne motioned serenely to the monitor. "The proof is here, clear as day."
"B-But wouldn't that be… incredibly risky?" Neuvillette asked.
The Melusine shook her head with practiced reassurance. "Miss Furina and all three babies are perfectly healthy, and I have seen nothing—throughout all her checkups—that would complicate her pregnancy or subsequent labor." She sent them a warm, stabilizing smile. "But I would advise you both to refrain from… intimate activities in the meantime."
Neuvillette looked, for just a moment, profoundly disappointed—like a dragon who had just been told his hoard was being put on a diet. But he nodded solemnly and promised to restrain himself.
A few months later…
After Furina had successfully delivered the twins and was now well into carrying their third child, Sigewinne sat across from them once more, ultrasound probe in hand, staring at the monitor with an expression that was professionally serene and internally screaming.
"Miss Furina," Sigewinne began, forcing a composed smile so fixed it could have been painted on; "it appears that you are pregnant with your fourth child. In your final trimester. Again."
She paused, blinked slowly, and added with the faintest hint of wonder:
"Dragon sperm is really something, huh?"