Aether/Albedo fic (Patreon)

hey so does anyone remember that random twitter poll i put out for like an hour one day that was like "quick aether/albedo or razor/bennet" and aether/albedo won????

well heres the fic i started that week and never finished until now akjsdhaskdja

i have only half proofread this so expect mistakes abound, but hey i tried lol

CW: birth, injury, whump, endangering of a pregnant person, risk of miscarriage, difficult birth, preterm labor, claustrophobia maybe??

pretty much i really wanted to write a birth scenario where someone goes into labor while trapped in a close space with another person and has to give birth like that, it is incredibly indulgent and albedo goes Through it, so read with caution and have fun!

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The cold wind left the tips of Albedo’s nose and cheeks a warm pink as it whipped past him. The mountain was cold, but he’d grown accustomed to its extreme temperatures over his years working and researching there, and he managed more than most of his companions did when traveling along the snow-covered paths.

Even better than his well-travelled companions that walked with him on his journey.

“I appreciate you agreeing to accompany me to collect these samples, Aether,” Albedo remarked as he trudged up the snowy path, “It is far more pleasant with company.”

“Well, I wasn’t about to let you climb up this mountain alone… I honestly can’t believe you were planning this trip despite how far along you are,” Aether sighed as he followed Albedo, shoulders tense with cold. Or maybe stress. It was difficult to tell.

Albedo smiled as he placed a hand over his rounded middle, feeling the warmth of his belly under his palm. It was true that in his third trimester most people had warned him off continuing his field research. Especially in such a dangerous location like Dragonspine, but he could hardly put his work aside and do nothing for months.

His mind was still eager for knowledge, and swollen feet weren’t enough to stop him.

Plus, Albedo had spent hours considering the dangers and what-ifs of making the trek while pregnant, and had planned the safest possible path steering away from any known Hilichurl and Treasure hoarder camps.

If all went according to plan, it was just a brisk hike up a relatively easy slope of the mountain to a small outcropping of scarlet quartz he knew well, and then back down in time for dinner. Simple.

“I’m at a crucial point with my research, and if I can help it I’d prefer to get as much work done as possible before I take leave-”

“Which you’re planning on doing when? Right before you go into labor?” Aether interrupts, leaving Albedo to press his lips together tightly. “Do you really not see how dangerous it is staying out here right until you think you’re ready? What if you go into labor early?”

“You make it sound as if I’m staying on the very peak of Dragonspine, completely isolated, Aether. The campsite at Windwail Highland is well occupied with a number of researchers and adventurers alike,” Albedo gave an amused sigh, “and this is the furthest I’ve travelled in weeks. I’m well taken care of there, I guarantee it.”

“You’d be even better taken care of at Mondstadt…” Aether pouted, “Is it really so difficult to see why I would be so concerned about you and the baby?”

At that Albedo paused, turning to Aether and taking his hand, pressing his other against Aether’s cheek.

“Aether,” Albedo spoke softly, drawing Aether’s eyes up to his bright cyan ones. “I love you, but we’re going to be fine. I know you just want to protect us, but I still have work to do, and I am not completely helpless. I just need to collect a few crystal samples, and then we can go straight back, okay?”

Aether paused for a moment, frowning before he finally broke with a sigh. “Yeah, okay. But then we’re immediately making plans to return to Monstadt for the birth.”

Albedo chuckled, rubbing his thumb over Aether’s cheek, “If you insist. Now, let’s make this a quick trip, hm?”

“Please!” Paimon cried, suddenly appearing from behind Aether. “Paimon doesn’t want to turn into a Paimon popsicle while you two make googly eyes at each other!”

Aether laughed, turning to look at his floating travel companion with a nod. “It’s far too cold on this mountain, so the faster we go the faster we can eat a warm meal in front of the fire.”

“Yes! Paimon can’t wait!” Paimon cheered, twirling about with a sprinkling of lights behind her before setting off again.

Albedo chuckled again, finally letting his hand drop from Aether’s before he continued on their path. It was true that the crystals he was searching for weren’t far up the winding path that covered Dragonspine. The whole trip should only take them a few hours all up, but the chill and slippery footing of the snow made the walk a little slower than it normally would have taken Albedo.

He watched his footing carefully over rocks and particularly slippery patches of snow as they walked, supporting his weight one whatever he could to ease his path. He had looked for the easiest path to take when he had planned the trip, but Dragonspine didn’t make it much easier.

Albedo was fully aware he should be more careful. Even if he wasn’t, it would only take five minutes of attempting to do anything physical to be reminded of the fact. And he had been reminded of that fact often.

It was as though the moment he’d discovered he was pregnant, everyone thought he’d turned to glass. No longer was he left unsupervised in his lab for long before someone was hovering over his shoulder and offering help he didn’t require, and even the simplest tasks we’re being delegated to others despite his position as both Captain and Chief Alchemist.

He has tried his best to continue his work as though nothing had changed, but as soon as he started to show and the news was practically plastered to the walls of Mondstadt, he could scarcely go out without someone mentioning his pregnancy. He understood that people were excited and happy for him, but the more nosey and invasive peoples questions became, the more he shied away, or rolled his eyes whenever someone insisted he shouldn't be working while pregnant.

Quickly, Albedo realised he was much more comfortable remaining outside of Mondstadt for the duration of his pregnancy, even if Aether didn’t like it as much. At least he didn’t have everyone breathing down his neck constantly, only the handful of other dedicated researchers that only bothered him on occasion to check in.

Albedo had been considerably lucky, he assumed, since so far his pregnancy had been fairly easy.

His morning sickness had been brief and easily remedied with his own recipes that helped soothe his stomach, and he’d practically sailed through his second trimester with the fabled pregnancy glow everyone talked about. He still didn’t fully comprehend what it meant beyond the obvious increase in blood and hormones his body was producing to support his rapidly changing body, but if it improved the quality of his skin and hair, Albedo wasn’t complaining.

Even now, late into his final weeks of pregnancy he didn’t feel much beyond the added strain on his back and hips thanks to the low, heavy weight of the baby resting against them.

And after all the horror stories Albedo had heard from others, he considered himself tremendously lucky that he’d taken to pregnancy so well.

Overall, it was hard to take the concern of others to heart when he felt better than he ever had before. The baby seemed to be strong and comfortable, and growing bigger everyday. If anything he could only wait for this pregnancy to end safely and on time just to prove to everyone how much their concern was unneeded. He knew his body well enough, and had no reason to expect anything less of himself.

Even now he could feel the baby resting peacefully inside him, and he let his hand cradle the swell of his stomach gently as he hiked up a steeper patch of the path. Maybe Aether and his own genetics combined had somehow created the most calm baby ever.

The thought of his child being born making the same passive faces that Aether sometimes made when he was bored or uninterested brought a puff of amusement to Albedo’s breath.

“What are you laughing at?” Aether asked, looking back to Albedo and offering him a hand to step past a cluster of rocks.

“Just thinking about who the baby might look more like,” Albedo smirked, and the look the Aether gave him was equal parts pleased and puzzled.

Then Albedo saw it, the opening to the cave he knew held the cluster of crystals he’d been searching for.

“We’ve made it,” He said, “we can collect the samples here.”

They walked into the cave and Albedo could already see the glimmering scarlet quartz emerging from the icey walls. He knew it would be best to take a small sample from a few different crystals to diversify his testing, so he settled into a squat in front of the nearest crystal and took out his tools to begin chipping away at the faintly glowing stone.

Aether and Paimon stood dutifully behind him like bodyguards, making light conversation as he worked carefully at the crystal, gathering the small shards into a container and then sealing it away quickly before the cold air made them disintegrate. Then, when he was done, he reached a hand towards Aether, and without saying a word was helped back to his feet before making his way to the next quartz.

They repeated this for a while, Aether helping Albedo in and out of the crouched positions he sat in to collect samples, and chatting idly as they moved about the cave.

After some time, Albedo had gathered a fair few vials of neatly labelled quartz samples in his bag, and had he still been working directly on the mountain itself he might have decided this was enough.

However, he knew it would likely be weeks, even months, before he could spare another trip to collect samples, and scarlet quartz was already a volatile material. If handled incorrectly, he could easily ruin a sample in moments, and he’d rather have a few extra on hand just in case.

As if he had a six sense for Albedo overworking himself, he heard Aether clear his throat from behind him.

“Nearly done?” Aether asked, shivering and watching as Albedo slowly crouched in front of another cluster.

“Just one more, then I should have more than enough to last me for a long while,” Albedo said, head turning to glance over his shoulder and letting a warm smile grace his lips. “It’ll be just a moment.”

With his gaze distracted towards Aether behind him, he only barely noticed how Aether’s eyes drew away from him and up, before his expression shifted suddenly and in a blur Albedo felt Aether’s body crash into his own with a solid thud.

They fell back, and a loud crack echoed through the freezing cave.

Everything was cold and sharp and sudden. Albedo felt his back and shoulder impact the hard stone as their bodies rolled and jolted to a stop, Aether’s arms wrapped around him and their bodies pressed painfully close. All they could hear was the hollow echo of stone vibrating the cave around them.

Albedo’s eyes were shut tight, heart pounding and lungs struggling to pull in air again. His mind reeled, trying to piece together what just happened while it throbbed in pain. He blinked back the tears that made his vision blurry; and saw Aether’s face close to his own. Scrunched in pain and shaking his head slightly as if to clear it.

Aether looked up at him, eyes suddenly widening in panic and body twisting as much as he could in the cramped space they now found themselves in. Albedo could feel Aether’s fingers digging in tighter against his back as his mouth opened, pulling in a frantic breath before speaking.

“A- are you okay?! Is the baby okay? Are you hurt?” Aether blurted out, golden eyes searching Albedo’s face and body for any visible wounds.

Albedo nodded, then grunted, feeling his body throb where he’d impacted the ground. He couldn’t move enough to check, but he could feel the stinging of grazed skin along his back, and he was sure there we’re probably a few bruises already forming.

“F-” Albedo wheezed, breath caught in his chest as he gasped heavily and coughed, dragging a painfully full breath into his lungs, then out, and in again before trying to speak. “Fine… I’m fine. What was that? What happened?”

Aether’s face stilled slightly, fear still marking his features, taking slow breaths himself before turning to the side and pressing his hand against sharp blue ice that now pressed against them.

That was when Albedo realised they were no longer in the spacious cave they had been.

No. That wasn’t quite right.

They were still in the cave, but now they were separated from the rest of it by a wall of ice.

“An icicle from the roof fell right above where you were sitting,” Aether said, still panting steadily as he spoke. “It was going to crush you, so I just… tried to push you out of the way, but it looks like we ended up pinned behind it.”

They both turned as much as they could, which was not much at all in the narrow space, to see where they had landed. There wasn’t much to go on, but it seemed that they’d conveniently found themselves wedged into a section of the wall that curved inwards, sandwiching them in the small gap of freezing stone and ice.

They were surrounded on all sides.

Albedo tried to move, but found it was almost impossible. He could just barely manage to move his arms and legs, shuffling them slightly but beyond that his limbs were trapped. His shoulder was pressed to the cold stone wall and Aether’s arms wrapped around him protectively as they lay face to face trapped in the stone.

Somehow, their limbs had tangled together as they’d tumbled down the slope, and now Albedo was half-kneeling, half-lying on top of Aether’s equally trapped form. The crevice was just big enough to fit the two of them, and Aether was reclined beneath him with his neck and shoulders pressed to the stone wall, and his knees folded up behind Albedo.

It wasn’t unbearable, but the awkward position was already putting more strain on Albedo’s back, and he could feel the ache of his grazed back combining with the twinge of cramping muscles.

Aether seemed to have slightly more movement at least. Albedo could feel him gently smoothing his hands down his back, and the small gesture helped soothe him. Even if his fingers accidentally brushed by a fresh wound.

Albedo took a moment to assess the situation, looking over the wet slab of ice that kept them trapped.

“Do you think you could break it?” Albedo asked, although he felt he knew the answer already. They still needed to try.

Aether shifted, tugging his arm roughly until he could press his tricep and elbow against the ice. Albedo watched as he pushed his shoulder and arm against it as hard as he could, gritting his teeth and even pulling his arm back to slam into it with more force on his second attempt.

The ice didn’t budge.

Aether shook his head. “Not like this. There’s not enough room in here to try pushing it, and I wouldn’t be able to reach my sword or even use it in here.”

Albedo twisted his own arm, already pinned next to the ice above Aether’s shoulder, until he could press his palm to it. He began summoning small amounts of Geo energy beneath his fingers, trying to dig into the ice with it. When he finally dropped his hand from the ice he could immediately see that he’d barely made a scratch.

“If only we had a Pyro vision with us…” Albedo sighed, looking over the bulk of ice again, trying to spot any sign of weakness.

Then, way above their heads, Albedo could see slivers of light filtering in where the jagged icicle didn’t completely cover the cave wall and he alerted Aether quickly.

“Wait, look, there’s still a gap,” Albedo nodded up at the light. “Maybe Paimon can hear us.”

“Paimon!” Aether suddenly called, his voice echoing loudly in the cramped little cave. “Paimon! We’re in here, can you hear us?”

After a few terrifying moments of silence, sparkling light fell through the gap above them before Paimon’s tiny face popped up.

“Aether!! Albedo! You’re OK! Paimon thought you’d been squished for sure!” Paimon cried out, her face filled with terror and relief.

“We’re ok, Paimon, but we’re trapped,” Aether called up to her, “we can’t move or break the ice, you have to go back to camp and get help!”

“What?! B- but Paimon can’t leave you here alone!” Paimon called back, her small eyebrows shooting up in panic.

“You have to, Paimon. You need to go back to camp and tell them we’re stuck! Get the Knights of Favonius! Tell them to bring Amber, or Diluc! We can’t break the ice without them,” Aether urged her, face serious and stern.

“O-ok, Paimon’ll hurry!” Paimon nodded, and with that her face was gone in a blur of lights, and they we’re alone again.

“Let’s hope she gets there quickly,” Albedo sighed, trying and failing to shift into a more comfortable position. A twinge of pain sparked up his back and down into his hips.

“She can fly, so the mountain won’t slow her down at least,” Aether said, turning his attention back to Albedo, “but it could still be hours before anyone can send word to Monstadt for back up. We might be here a while…”

“I was afraid of that,” Albedo mumbled, letting his head droop forward to rest against Aether’s shoulder as best he could with their limited movement.

Aether’s hands came up to hold his back again, rubbing it softly in jerky half circles.

“Are you alright? Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?” Aether asked gently, “How’s the baby?”

Albedo tried to pull his arm that was pressed against the wall towards his stomach, and unsurprisingly found it was still pinned there even when he tugged at it sharply. All he received was a throbbing pain in his arm and another twinge of pain down his back before he stopped trying with a frustrated huff.

“I mean, this position is very uncomfortable to hold while nearly nine months pregnant, and I’m definitely going to be paying for it later, but I don’t think anything is broken,” Albedo explained, “I… I think the baby is okay, but they haven’t moved yet. But I also don’t think I took any direct impact to my stomach so hopefully... “

Albedo trailed off, fear burying itself deeper into his chest the more he thought about it.

But he tried to stay calm, think logically.

The baby wasn’t usually very active this time of day, often a day sleeper and night kicker, so it wouldn’t be abnormal for them to remain calm with only the occasional wriggle until he settled down in the evening. It was only now after such a severe fall that every bad outcome was quickly flooding his mind.

In their current tangled position, Albedo’s round stomach rested against Aether’s own. Nothing seemed wrong at a glance, there were no obvious wounds he could see and his stomach still sat round and firm on his middle, just as it had before they left earlier this morning. He prayed that being nestled between Albedo and Aether’s bodies during the fall had been enough to protect the baby, but he wouldn’t be sure until he could check for himself.

Aether grunted, and Albedo saw his arm shift before he tugged it towards his chest, just managing to squeeze it through the gap of their bodies between the ice. Then, with a little more awkward shuffling, he managed to press his palm against Albedo’s stomach. He pressed the pads of his fingers against the swell of the bump, applying firm but gentle pressure, just as he had before to rouse the baby into awakening.

Albedo let out a sudden sound of surprise when he felt the baby kick back, and Aether let out a pleased chuckle as their eyes met with relief. The baby kicked against Aether’s fingers again, and he rubbed them over the little distention they left.

“Guess they weren’t as rattled by the fall as we were,” Aether laughed, “at least they seem to be doing fine.”

“Thank the Archons,” Albedo sighed, wilting heavily against Aether as much as he could.

Finally feeling the baby wriggling again was the exact sign he needed to let his mind stop racing with possibilities. Even if that meant dealing with sharp little kicks against his ribs from their disgruntled child, who was clearly awoken by Aether’s gentle prodding and was either very happy or very annoyed by the disturbance. The relief it brought was worth the mild discomfort.

“I guess there’s not much left to do but wait now, hm?” Aether mused, hand now absently rubbing Albedo’s belly, “You’re not cold are you?”

Albedo shook his head, “No, I’m alright for now. I’m fairly used to the cold, and at least we’re out of the wind here. Are you cold?”

“I mean, I’ve been warmer,” Aether grinned, “but I’m much warmer with you so close to me.”

“Flirting while we’re trapped in a cave?” Albedo said as his eyebrow lifted, stifling a smile. “You have no shame, Aether.”

He watched the grin grow bigger on Aether’s face, mouth opening with probably an even more cheesy line to follow the last, but he couldn’t get the words out before a surprised groan of pain from Albedo stopped him.

The pain in his back twisted sharply, forced down further into his hips this time that ached awfully. Albedo’s eyebrows screwed together as he let out small pained noises and sucked air in through teeth.

“Albedo?” Aether worried, his voice already teemed with panic.

“I’m fine, I’m okay,” Albedo groaned, “It’s just this position, it’s making the ache in my back worse.”

“I…” Aether started, wiggling helplessly for a moment before giving up again. “I’m sorry… I don’t think I can move enough to change positions for you.”

“We’re trapped in a hole barely big enough for one person, let alone two people and a baby. It’s alright, I’ll manage for now,” Albedo said, trying to reassure Aether who looked so stricken that he was unable to do anything to make Albedo more comfortable right now, even given their current circumstances.

It was sweet, and almost hilarious, how earnest he was in wanting to help Albedo.

Aether had kept working, just as Albedo had, throughout his pregnancy and being an Adventurer by trade there were often stretches of time that Aether would be travelling while Albedo remained on the outskirts of Mondstadt. But even with his frequent travels Aether always made the effort to come and stay with him as often as possible.

Albedo would be sitting at his desk working as the sun set and see the distant figure of Aether sprinting towards camp. Often dirty and exhausted from days of nonstop travel, but he never failed to press a kiss to Albedo’s temple and lay a hand on his once subtle bump before he collapsed into a deep slumber.

Honestly, for a moment Albedo was grateful that if he had to be stuck in a cave with anyone, it just so happened to be his boyfriend, who was also the sweetest person he’d ever met.

The sentiment was short lived though. Pain rolled down from his hips and out through his thighs, back muscles seizing momentarily as the sharp pains pulled on them like reigns. Albedo tried to muffle his need to whimper as the pain moved through his muscles, tensing and squeezing them like the worst muscle cramp he’d ever had. He didn’t want to upset Aether more.

“Does it hurt a lot?” Aether asked, his voice lowered to a soft tone, as though they were curled up together in bed instead of twisted into the most uncomfortable position Albedo had ever been in.

“It does, but there’s little to be done about it now. I just have to bear with it until Paimon returns with help,” Albedo conceded, turning his head just enough to rest his cheek against Aether’s chest and letting his eyes drift shut.

He let himself relax into Aether’s warmth, and even though he didn’t think he would enjoy any sleep he could get in this position, it would be better than nothing. Especially when the hours seemed to have ticked by so slowly, the gradually disappearing light that reached them through the gap above the ice their only source for telling how much time had passed.

Aether’s hand continued to rub at his stomach, the baby having settled back down a while ago now, no longer pressing tiny kicks into his organs. Albedo tried to focus on that, the gentle motion of Aether’s hand, warm against his skin, even as his body began shivering with the cold and pain that was getting harder to ignore.

The longer he was forced to hold his position, the more he felt his control over his body slip. He could feel himself losing feeling in his legs as they fell asleep beneath him, or maybe they were going numb with cold. It was getting harder to tell as time moved on.

It hurt. His whole body hurt more than he wanted to admit.

He knew there was nothing he nor Aether could do to alleviate the pain, so he resolutely continued to bite back groans when he could. Never giving in to the temptation to whine or shout or swear like he truly wanted. Not giving in to his desire to cling to Aether and complain about how much it hurt every time he felt another surge of cramps tighten his muscles involuntarily. Or how it felt like his hip bones were grinding against stones every time he dared to move even a little.

Instead he willed himself to try rest, to occupy his mind with anything else as he lost track of the hours.

He had no clue what time it was. No clue how long they’d been trapped in this hole. No clue how far away help was now.

No idea when this would end.

Then, as though it was some cruel and unusual joke from the universe, the pain began to intensify. It felt as though he had been struck by lightning at how suddenly his muscles all clenched, pain surging through his spine and overtaxed muscles as he gasped pathetically to keep breathing through the worst of it. His fingers clenched around nothing, trying to ground himself even a little against the mounting pain.

He hoped to Barbatos that help was nearly here.

Every pain after that one only seemed to mimic or double its intensity. The composure and calm Albedo had worked so hard to maintain this whole time quickly slipped from his grasp as every pain that rolled through him seemed to pull more and more agonized sounds from him that he wasn’t even aware he could make.

What little grasp on time Albedo had slipped from him then as well.

Aether tried, Archons bless him, to distract Albedo as the intensity of his discomfort grew more obvious. Trying to start light conversation, or remark on a memory of something more enjoyable, adventures gone wrong in the past that only resulted in a humorous and unpainful end rather than the slow torture Albedo was enduing. But more often than not Albedo had his face buried in Aether’s chest as he muffled groans of pain and exhaustion, unable to form any words that were not curses or pleading weakly for relief.

Soon enough Aether’s words became a low, steady mumble encouragement in Albedo’s ear. Long having given up on trying to distract him from his pain, and just trying to comfort him through it as best as he could. It was all they could do.

As Albedo whined into Aether’s chest as he felt the vice-like pain that gripped his whole body, something in his mind finally clicked. Like the final piece of a puzzle, sliding into place, and if Albedo hadn’t lost all feeling in his feet and hadn’t suffered enough pain, he would have kicked himself for not realising sooner.

All too late he felt the distinct shift inside him, a deep pressure against his hips that he should have identified much sooner but had failed to because of the complete absurdity of the situation.

He had to tell Aether, and wanted to tell Aether. His eyes opened wide and Albedo looked at him, opening his mouth to try and explain when instead all that came out was a startled cry as he felt the pressure inside him finally burst.

Hot liquid soaked through the layers of his clothes, gushing from inside him for what felt like too long before it finally slowed to a trickle. Albedo could feel it dripping down his thighs like lava against the cold air, panting and gasping to regain himself. And trying to make peace with the fact that it had definitely also soaked Aether, who’s lap was still trapped beneath his legs.

Albedo could see the shocked look on Aether’s face as he glanced back and forth between his lap and Albedo’s face. Albedo could practically hear the cogs turning in Aether’s head trying to figure out what just happened, and finally he had enough control over himself to get out the words he’d been trying to say.

“M-my water broke.”

“Your…” Aether started, and somehow his eyes grew even wider. “Your water broke!?”

“Yes, I’m pretty sure it just did,” Albedo panted out, still feeling the warm liquid dripping down his legs and beginning to cool against his skin.

“You’re sure?” Aether repeated again, still wide-eyed in shock.

Albedo would have laughed if this wasn’t the worst thing that could have possibly happened right now.

“I mean, I definitely didn’t pee on you if that’s your concern,” Albedo frowned, “I still have a grasp on my bladder despite being pregnant, and if I truly had to go I would at least warn you first.”

“I- wait, what? No, nevermind,” Aether shook the confusion and shock from his face before pinning Albedo with a serious look. “You’re in labor. Right now.”

“I… Yes, it appears I am,” the realising was still fresh in his mind, and saying the words felt wrong somehow. He had only realised moments before his water broke what had been happening for likely hours. “It’s possible I have been for a while now, it’s difficult to tell what have been muscle cramps and what have been actual contractions at this point.”

The silence that hung in the air between them was heavy. Both of them silently realised how the situation had quickly changed from extremely uncomfortable to potentially life threatening.

Albedo didn’t try to speak. A shooting pain instead coursed through his body and he groaned, eyes shutting tight as he tipped his head towards Aether again. He could just feel the touch of his hands trying to soothe him but, if it was even possible, the severity of the pain mounted again.

For the first time that day, Albedo finally let himself scream. Muffling his warbling sobs against Aether’s chest.

With what little clarity still remained, Albedo noted how much worse labor pains were than he expected. He thought he would have identified them with ease considering he’d had his fair share of practice contractions up to this point, but the pulsing pain that rattled him to his core was mind-numbing.

He was sure the intensity had to be a mix of his fatigued muscles and the contracting of his womb, because if this was how labor felt for everyone he was sure there would be no person alive that would agree to do this a second time.

When he could finally catch his breath again, Albedo asked, “Do you think they’ll make it before the baby comes?”

“I hope so,” Aether’s mouth pulled into a tight line as he worried his lip between his teeth. “But for now, we’ll just stay calm and deal with things as they happen. We can manage, as long as we’re together, right?”

Albedo nodded weakly, trying to let himself believe in Aether’s words.

“Right,” Aether nodded back, arm wrapping around Albedo’s back a little tighter in their confined space.

They could handle this. They were both experienced adventurers, and had been in plenty of risky, life threatening situations before and made it out fine.

The only difference was that this was the first time their child’s life was also on the line.

Albedo tried to let the image of rescue hurrying up the mountain side to their aid keep him focused as the contractions continued to intensify with the passing time. He clung to his faith in his fellow Knights, waiting for the moment when the chunk of ice would melt into a puddle and they’d both be returned to Mondstadt in record time to safely deliver the baby in a clean room with experienced midwives and blankets and a bed and all the salves and healing magic he could hope for.

The thought sustained him for a while.

Now, it seemed so abstract and distant he didn’t think anyone was coming for them at all.

There was hardly any light filtering through the crack in the ice above them anymore, and it was only thanks to the gentle glow of Aether’s clothes that they still had any sight left at all. Without any chance of seeing the sky, it was impossible to know how late it was. Whether or not the sun had set, if the sky had already turned an inky black filled with stars, there was no way to know. Time was a complete mystery to them now.

To Albedo, it felt like days since they’d become trapped.

Aether had continued to try to soothe him, but it was obvious that even he had grown tired. It had been too long know that they’d been trapped amongst freezing stones and ice, and the closeness of their bodies was no longer enough to keep them warm. Especially with the temperature having frozen Albedo’s amniotic fluid to their skin and clothes.

They both shivered against each other, trying to keep their teeth from chattering in the brief lulls of contractions. As agonising as it was to feel the cold seep in, sometimes the only relief Albedo had from contractions was when his body was too numb with cold to react.

Albedo had also been painfully aware of the steadily lowering pressure in his hips. Slowly feeling each contraction push it deeper and lower, the weight against his pelvis getting heavier and heavier until he knew he couldn't continue to ignore it. He had hoped to just wait as long as he could bear, praying that rescue would come before he started to push.

But he could wait no longer.

With a great effort he looked to Aether again, sucking in a dry breath before he spoke, “It’s t-too late… my pants, Aether, it’s coming.”

Aether’s eyebrows pulled into a sad frown, but he nodded in understanding, and began to move.

Aether’s hand slowly slipped down from where it had remained cradled against Albedo’s stomach, struggling to twist his arm into the right angle where he could reach between Albedo’s thighs, but he managed.

After several moments of struggling, Albedo finally felt a tug at the laces of his pants, and they slowly began to loosen. Albedo tried to lift his hips or shift his thighs in any way he thought might help as he felt Aether begin tugging the waist of his pants down. The parts that had frozen to his skin tugged with a cold sharpness as they were pulled away.

As his pants reached the middle of his thighs he felt a few strong tugs that seemed to do nothing before Aether spoke, “I think that's as far as I can get them down.”

Albedo nodded, “That’s fine, it’s enough.”

He took several deep breaths as he spoke, feeling another contraction begin to peak just as he stopped talking. The pain made him grit his teeth with a groan, and now when he felt his body start pushing he doubled the efforts as well, pushing as much as he could for the duration of the contraction until it ended.

Even though Albedo knew that he still had a long way to go before the baby was out, the sheer relief pushing gave him was almost enough to make him cry. After so many hours of being unable to do anything, he could finally do something that helped. It felt like he gained the slightest amount of control over his body again, even if he was barely managing to follow his body's sensations, but that was enough. It was something to focus on instead of the pain.

He pushed with each following contraction, feeling the minute changes as the baby descended lowerl. He had severely underestimated how physically taxing pushing would be on his body, especially when he was already exhausted and dehydrated, and near delirious with pain.

Despite everything, Albedo still put all of his strength behind each push, until he could finally feel what he hoped was the top of the baby’s head resting just behind his labia.

“Aether, I need you to check for the baby’s head,” Albedo panted, “I can’t reach myself, so you’ll have to support the baby while I push.”

A flash of fear widened Aether’s eyes before he schooled his expression back down, and as much as Albedo knew he would do this, or anything Albedo would have asked of him during his pregnancy, he had known that Aether never expected to have to actively assist in delivering their child.

Holding Albedo’s hand through it? Of course, but being the only person able to ensure the baby’s safe delivery was a totally different thing.

Still, Albedo watched as Aether pulled his hand up to his face before tugging his glove off with his teeth and dropping it before returning his hand back between Albedo’s legs.

“You should just be able to feel their head now, I think,” Albedo tried to instruct through clenched teeth, waiting for Aether to finish before he allowed himself to keep pushing.

Aether’s cold fingers pressing against his lips made him jump, but he said nothing, breathing through the pain as he felt the cold digits work their way deeper inside him. He let out a rush of air as he finally felt the contraction end, and his body relaxed some.

“I can feel it,” Aether said, sounding a little starstruck, “They’re right there.”

Albedo nodded, “Good, keep your hand there, I’ll need your help.”

“Got it,” Aether confirmed, and within seconds Albedo was pushing again.

The baby’s head slipped deeper down, and Albedo finally felt his first taste of stretch as his birth canal was forced to accommodate the quickly descending head of his baby as he grunted with effort. Even as the stretch became worse the lower the baby got, Albedo could hardly hold himself back now, desperate for the pain to end and to give in to his body’s desperate need to push.

He barely caught his breath between the contractions now, each mounting fast and hard and all he could do was scream and cry and moan as he felt his lips begin to bulge as the baby finally breached him.

Albedo was unprepared for the sharp burn the stretch would bring, burying his face against Aether’s shoulder as he wailed through the push, feeling the head slide incrementally forward bit by bit until it suddenly dropped from him, and he felt Aether’s hand hurry to support it.

He sobbed. Relief, pain, and desperation all swirled in his mind.

“The head’s out!” Aether gasped with barely contained elation, and Albedo could feel his whole body thrumming with energy and residual pain. He knew he was so close now to being done and it was almost enough that he felt his exhaustion creeping up on him, but he still had to keep focused. This wasn’t over yet.

“Neck,” Albedo choked out, “Check the neck. Cord.”

He waited as he felt Aether’s hand move before the uncomfortable addition of a finger slipped just inside him and traced the perimeter of their baby’s neck. He received a curt nod as the finger retreated.

“No cord,” Aether confirmed, and Albedo felt such relief at those words.

“Thank Barbatos,” he sighed, allowing himself a moment of gratitude that this day hadn’t gotten any more complicated.

He steadied his breathing as he felt the baby finish rotating, and with more confidence now resumed pushing as soon as he felt ready. It wasn’t any easier now than it had been before, but he was too determined to let that slow him down.

The shoulders presented slowly, stretching him even wider than the head and leaving him moaning steadily as they struggled to be born. He trembled with effort, and they felt so close to being out that he was nearly about to beg Aether to help when with another gush of hot fluid he felt the pop free, the baby sliding from him suddenly and into Aether’s waiting hand and lap.

Albedo lifted his hips up as much as he could to make it easier for Aether to lift their baby onto his chest and laying them there as he tugged his scarf off quickly with his free hand and attempted to swaddle the baby as much as he could, trying to shield them from the cold as much as possible with their limited supplies.

Albedo lowered himself closer, too exhausted to try holding himself up any longer, and desperate to see his baby for the first time.

Aether’s hand worked quick circles on their baby’s back, and Albedo watched lying almost nose to nose with his child as their face screwed up and a grumpy hiccup erupted with their first cry.

Aether’s head fell back with a sigh of relief, his hand slowing its ministrations slightly, but not stopping, and Albedo sobbed on a laugh, too overwhelmed with emotions to do anything but cry and watch their baby attempt to wriggle under the quickly fashioned scarf-blanket and take nice deep breaths as they cried. Albedo had never been so happy to hear an infant scream.

“You did it, you did it,” he finally realised Aether was babbling, head still tipped back against the wall, before finally he looked back to Albedo with tears streaming down his face and the widest grin he’d ever seen.

Albedo tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a wheeze in his dry throat, but he couldn't help but return the smile. He knew it wasn’t over yet, he could still feel the umbilical cord connecting them, and they still had no clue when a rescue team would arrive. But for the moment he let himself just be with his family, and pretend everything was fine.

The contractions didn’t let him enjoy the respite for too long, and Albedo passed the afterbirth shortly afterwards with what he hoped was great success.

His main concern now that he was no longer suffering through contractions was keeping his child warm. Aether’s scarf was at least something, but the temperatures here were below freezing, and only got colder at night. A newborn wouldn’t be able to handle those kinds of temperatures with just a single covering, especially not one that had come early.

Albedo huddled as close as he could manage, and Aether kept his hand still moving to rub warmth into their baby’s back and limbs. They could only hope they were doing enough to help. That it would be enough to keep the three of them alive for however long they were going to be stuck there.

Albedo began to wonder what he would do if it came to that point, to one of them not making it when a sudden burst of sparkling light appeared above them, forcing them to squint up at it.

“Paimon’s rescue team has finally arrived!” Paimon cheered for herself, smiling through the gap in the wall before she finally looked down and gasped. “B- b- baby!!!”

Then she was gone again.

Aether and Albedo only had moments to blink at each other before frantic chattering and shouting was heard muffled through the ice and then with a burst of sizzling and warmth the ice pillar that had started this nightmare melted away to nothing.

Albedo was crying again before he realised.

He couldn’t even care that his pants were still tugged around his thighs as waves of emotions rolled over him at seeing so many of the Knights there to help.

Jean was in front of them instantly, her face stricken with sorrow at what must be an incredibly pitiful looking display, but Albedo couldn’t ever try to compose himself anymore. He sobbed openly as Jean soothed him gently, Barbara suddenly appearing behind her with an armful of blankets that she draped over Albedo’s shoulders before she and Jean slowly untangled Albedo from Aether and the wall that he’d nearly frozen to.

He cried out as they moved him, his body rigid and stiff, and all his limbs having gone numb. He couldnt even stand let alone walk, and Jean had to almost carry him over to a waiting cart they’d managed to bring with them. When Jean had made sure he was safely in the cart with Barbara attending him she returned to Aether, who now had their baby swaddled properly with some of the blankets Barbara carried, and was being helped to his feet by Kaeya.

Albedo didn’t want to take his eyes off them, but Barbara was frantic, and clearly trying to gain some insight to his injuries and what needed attending first.

“I gave birth,” Albedo said absently, finally turning to look at Barbara. “It hurt so much, but I can’t feel anything now.”

His words didn’t seem to relieve her the way he thought they might, and he was barely able to register her movements as she began working with a severe focus, but he could still see the unshed tears that left her eyes shining.

Kaeya and Jean were helping Aether hobble to the cart, he seemed just as stiff and unable to walk, but he managed far better than Albedo had, and was still cradling their child to his chest the whole way. They assisted him into the cart beside Albedo, and he groaned as he stretched his legs out in front of him.

Albedo couldn't help letting his head rest on his shoulder, just to get another look at his baby, and Aether’s head rested against the top of his with a weary sigh. He could stare at their face forever, but he could barely keep his eyes open any longer, and before he knew it he was out.

-----

Albedo woke with a groan, wincing before he even opened his eyes at the amount of pain throbbing through him. He felt like he’d been trampled by a hoard of Mitachurls. Twice.

He felt for his belly and almost threw himself to the floor with how quickly he shot up when he didn’t feel the familiar weight of his belly there, eyes tearing open and regretting it all at once when the light made his head pound and the movement made his body throb even harder.

He doubled over onto the sheets and groaned, hearing a gentle sigh move towards him.

“I would warn you to not make such sudden movements again, but I think you’ve learnt your lesson,” Barbara said with a weary smile before she eased him back against the pillows, fluffing them gently.

“Wha- Where-” Albedo tried, choking on his dry throat before a glass of water was placed in his hands. He gratefully accepted it and emptied the glass in moments.

“Do you remember what happened?” Barbara asked, waiting for Albedo to gather himself again.

He stopped for a moment, then slowly began to nod, “We went up Dragonspine mountain… and got trapped. Then I went into labor…” Albedo's brow was pinched with worry as he looked up at Barbara again, “Where’s Aether and the baby?”

Barbara smiled, nodded to herself and clearly happy to see there was nothing wrong with his memory.

“They’re over there, asleep on the next bed. I nearly had to drag him to another room to prevent him from crawling into bed with you, but I wouldn’t allow it with both of your injuries!”

Albedo turned to see Aether curled up in the bed over from his, fast asleep. Even faster he noticed the bassinet that was beside him. His eyes shone with fresh tears just at the thought of seeing his baby again. He hadn’t even had the chance to hold them yet. He wasn’t even sure how old they were right now.

“I’ll grab her for you, just a moment,” Barbara grinned, seeing exactly where Albedo’s eyes had fixated.

His head whipped to look at Barbara as she walked over to the bassinet and picked up the bundle of blankets, and Albedo’s eyes were wide as he watched the tiny wriggling form come closer.

“Her?” He repeated, unable to look away for even a second as Barbara placed his daughter gently against his chest and helped him support her weight.

“Oh, golly, I just said it didn't I, no surprise or anything!” Barbara scolded herself, bottom lip pushing out in a pout, “I’m so sorry, Albedo, it completely slipped my mind that you didn’t know yet! But yes, you’ve got a healthy little girl, who’s already won over just about every Knight of Favonius that’s come to visit her.”

Albedo had heard every word Barbara had said of course. He was desperate to know everything about his daughter, who had apparently already proven to be far more sociable than himself in her young life, but he simply couldn’t do anything but hold her as close as possible, pressing soft kisses to her forehead and fitting one of his fingers into her tiny hands as she held it tightly.

He hadn’t even noticed that Barbara had left until Aether was suddenly slipping under the sheets beside him. He slunk down until he could rest his head on Albedo’s shoulder, smiling at the both of them as he made himself comfortable.

“I’m never going on that stupid mountain ever again,” Aether said flatly, and this time Albedo could laugh.

“I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere near it either,” Albedo agreed, “Not for a very, very long time.”