Dimensional Descent

Leonel fell into silence, his palm flipping to return the bow to the Segmented Cube. He didn't quite have an answer, he never really thought about it.

Even when he was with Aina, he never really thought about what their future together would look like. He didn't think about marriage, he didn't think about kids or grandkids, he never really imagined them growing old together either.

It was odd that he never did. A man like him who was logical to a fault should have been thinking about those things. And, at the very least, he should have talked to Aina about it at some point. But, he never brought it up.

"Do you want kids?"

Aina, who had been staring intently at Leonel, was suddenly caught completely off guard by the question. She was baffled in one moment before she went entirely red.

"What are you talking about all of a sudden?!"

Seeing her reaction, Leonel laughed, all his worries seeming to float away. She could be quite bold sometimes, but she could also be adorably embarrassed just as easily. The ebbs and the flows of this were quite peaceful and relaxing. Maybe there was nothing wrong with some forms of boredom.

"No, really," Leonel said after he finally stopped laughing. "Do you?"

Aina's eyes darted around. She couldn't believe Leonel had really chosen this kind of situation to ask this question. But, seeing that the answer was important to him, she bit her lip and nodded.

"How many?" Leonel pressed.

Aina was exasperated. What was wrong with this man all of a sudden?!

"… Ten…"

"Huh?" Leonel leaned in.

Even with his hearing, Aina had spoken so softly that he couldn't hear exactly what she was saying. Was this really something to be so embarrassed about? As confusing as he was, this woman was even more confusing. She didn't even blink an eye when they got caught making out in the middle of a Rapax Nest, now she wanted to be all flustered?

"At least ten, alright?!" Aina snapped, her voice practically blowing Leonel's hair back.

"At least ten?" Leonel's brows rose. "Does that mean you want more than that?"

"Yes." Aina placed her hands on her hips. "Is there a problem? I'm doing most of the work anyway."

Leonel blinked. It seemed that this was more important to Aina than he knew, to think that he hadn't even thought to ask before. She even seemed a bit defensive about it, as though she was afraid that Leonel would say no.

Even without going down that path, Leonel could tell that saying no would really hurt Aina, maybe even more so than those cruel words he had spoken that day on Planet Montex. He could even feel the anxiety within her as she waited for him to respond.

Leonel felt that he should have been able to guess this long ago.

It was one thing for Aina to get super defensive and anxious over her experience with the Puppet Master back when her psyche still wasn't completely whole. But, for that to bleed over into her rage for the Steel Beast Master as well long after her mind had been repaired was a different matter entirely.

What did both Variant Invalids have in common? Well, both them wanted to use her as some sort of sow to pump out babies for them.

Maybe, the reason Aina was so enraged went beyond them just crossing boundaries any woman would have up, but rather because they were also perverting something she held close to her heart and cherished.

Leonel smiled. "What are you so worried about? Like you said, you're doing most of the work anyway. How about we start now?"

Leonel's smile spread into a wild grin.

One baby, ten babies, twenty? He didn't really care one way or another.

Aina sighed a breath of relief before she rolled her eyes. "I'm ignoring you."

She turned away and began to walk to who knows where.

"How can you ignore me? If we don't start now, how are we supposed to get to 20? Think of the gestation period!"

Aina's lips arched in a smile Leonel couldn't see as she continued to walk away. The relief in her eyes almost seemed palpable.

"Be serious, we need to find a way out of here," Aina stopped by where the green Runed egg had been, waiting for Leonel to put it down so that they could go. She knew Leonel well enough to know that he no longer had any intention of taking the egg with him.

"I can think of a few ways," Leonel spoke as he took out the box once again. "No need to take it too seriously. Getting out of here probably isn't all that difficult anymore. Just look at all the energy around us."

"Really?" Aina raised an eyebrow.

"Really."

Aina was a bit skeptical, but she didn't think he would joke about something like this.

"Look at you, doubting me. How could you doubt your future baby daddy?"

"Ew, don't say it like that. I physically cringe."

"What, baby daddy? That struck a nerve? I'm going to slot that in with things you get wrong like putting cereal in first."

"You're a terrorist to society," Aina snapped back.

"This terrorist would like to book a baby making appointment. Really, if we don't start now, it'll be too late."

"I suddenly regret telling you this."

"It's real, though! I hear having babies is harder at higher Dimensions. The earlier we start, the better."

"Maybe for other women, but not for me. I can have a baby whenever I want."

Leonel's brows shot up. He was going to ask Aina what she meant by that, but his senses caused him to turn his head instead, only to lock eyes with a young man. The two had apparently completely forgotten that there were others around them.

"That bow."

Leonel didn't need to hear the rest for his gaze to narrow.