In Which Sevvie Plays Along

April 28, 1200

"Um, not that I don't think you look great, but..." Sevvie bit his lip. He hated to bring this up on the day before Adonis's wedding, especially when their mother would have (perhaps rightfully so) smacked him for even thinking it--but, he'd damned if what ought to be one of the best days of his brother's life was ruined by senseless ridicule. "...do you really feel all right about wearing that?"

"It's fine, Sevvie." Adonis pushed back his hair and admired the crisp white fabric. "I'm a virgin."

That hadn't even sort of been what he was thinking. But, it wasn't as if that didn't raise its own set of questions. "Seriously? You and Alina always seem to be all over each other."

"Well, it isn't as if we haven't done other things--plus, we agreed long ago that the look on Grandfather's face if any of his descendants managed to wed in white would be well worth the wait."

"Hmm. I guess I'll grant you that." Yvanette had worn white, but she wasn't their grandfather's grandchild. Sevvie... had not been immune to the occasional bout of paid relief. Not before they'd wed, anyway--though, while he wouldn't dream of acting on it, Yvanette's dread of getting pregnant had led to some temptation on that front. "Mind you, I don't know if I got a good look at him when Lyssa got married."

"True, but Landus was in Carvallon for most of their betrothal." Adonis flipped the thought aside with a wave of his hand, but his grin didn't last much longer than that, the corners of his mouth slowly sinking to sobriety. "Speaking of people who won't be there tomorrow, though: I call Mother's name."

"Sorry?" Sevvie squinted. What did their mother's name have to do with anything?

"You know--for a baby. I call naming my and Alina's first daughter Asalaye. Obviously you'll want to use the name eventually, but I reserve the right to use it first."

"Oh." For Yvanette's sake, it was a relief to know that people weren't quite at the point where they were wondering about their lack of children yet. But--also for Yvanette's sake--he'd play along with Adonis for now. "Yes, that's all right. You were closest to Mother, plus Aunt Lettie could always get a granddaughter from Rennie before she gets one from you; I suppose our first daughter would be Yvanette's mother's first granddaughter, so she should probably have her name."

"Thanks, Sevvie. See, this is why I don't see what other sets of brothers are getting at when they think there's a problem with us never fighting." Mindful of his skirts--his wedding gown, after all--Adonis lunged in for a hug. "I love you, brother."

"I love you too." Sevvie returned the squeeze with a pat on the back--stiff, not so candid, but no less genuine. "And don't think I'll ever stop looking out for my loved ones."

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