Mikali eyed him as Nataniel set to putting away the offering his fiance had sent him with, a small sampling of vegetables from their garden. Tomatoes in the large dish on the counter, beans in the drawer in the fridge, a jar of salsa on a shelf in the cupboard (the first canned anything he and Basyl had tried to make. ...He doubted his mother would even taste it, but Nataniel's father might, and that was good enough for Basyl to think it should be included).

Nataniel turned back to the counter, depleted grocery bag waded up into a ball, when the tips of his mother's fingers brushed the faint, zagging lines across the side of his neck, and Nataniel thought for just a moment that she was going to say something. Mikali's eyes were narrowed, her thin lips drawn, her gaze as intense as ever- there was no way she was going to say nothing-

But she didn't. With a quiet puff to disperse her own intent, she turned away from him, either because she expected little information if she asked, or maybe she thought he would be forthcoming if it was very important. Maybe both.

Either way, she had other matters on her mind.

"It has been years now, since the engagement." Nataniel's shoulders immediately sagged, and while he'd been taught about how rude it was to groan out loud and interrupt his mother's speaking, he couldn't help the dissuasive little note that escaped his throat. She ignored him. "And still I hear nothing about forward progress with the arrangement? No invitations, no wedding planner, no location, no date? No date," she repeated firmly. "You have to set these things up well in advance. Nani requires so much time to make travel arrangements."

"Basyl and I are... busy," Nataniel replied flatly, shuffling to stash the grocery bag in the backpack he'd brought with him, adorned in starry charms. "The intent is enough for us. We are very happy with just the knowledge that we want to be in each other's lives forever. ...A ceremony is just extra."

Extra work (bad) on top of the tax benefits (good). Basyl would probably enjoy a large family gathering, but Nataniel could take it or leave it... It really was a bit of a hassle when all of his emotions were already there, and he had never been secretive about it. His family knew how he felt about the man he loved. What difference did a wedding make, really.

"You are almost forty, and that is getting to be quite old to start-"

His head whipped back to her at lightning speed, the barest little sneer quirking his lips. "I am thirty-one?"

"Closer to forty than twenty."

And he had never heard something so ridiculous from his mother's mouth because he was far from 'too old' to do- literally anything? "I am closest to thirty. Ample time for whatever matters present themselves. I am still in good shape."

"Right at this moment, you would be fifty by the time your child is fully grown. And do you still think you would be in 'good shape' in two decades-?"

"Then it is fortunate that I have no children and am not currently planning-"

"Currently!" Mikali's hand smacked the counter with force. The reverberations were enough for even Nataniel to just barely wince. "Currently, but you are running out of time to change your mind. And what of poor Basyl? Nothing you say will ever convince me that he would not prefer a large family."

There was nothing preventing him from lying. Or simply saying nothing at all. But there was another... minute dip in his posture, a little flutter as his gaze swept down, and Mikali was suddenly bunched up like a predator waiting to pounce. So Nataniel spoke quickly, practically without thinking. "He does. ...Want a large family, I mean." But he knew she would seize on that too, like she seized on even the smallest impression of weakness that he might give. "But he is happy to forgo it, if it is not something we agree on."

Which... well, Nataniel did not want a large family. He did not want children, could not even imagine a world where he would get along with them or be a good parent to them. They seemed like little more than a chore and a burden, and it would bre selfish of him to consent to bringing something into the world knowing that he would only feel resentment toward them.

And he and Basyl were busy, besides. Too busy for children. Both with a full time job and both with a sort of part-time job that had the potential to be wildly dangerous.

They'd held the world's fate in their hands barely a year ago.

And Nataniel... wasn't a good person in the sense that most would describe. He knew it to be true, no matter how he resented it. Consequently, it would be a huge shock if he lived long enough to see a child grow to adulthood. It was already kind of a huge shock that he'd lived to be thirty.

"It is not in our plan," he stated firmly. "And it has already been settled with Basyl. He does not need your help convincing me." Nathaniel slid around the kitchen counter, heading for the doorway into the living room, but he was sure he heard his mother grumbling behind him.

"He needs my help, alright. And Ambrose's maybe... I will speak with Basyl's mother, hm..."

Which Nataniel had the distinct impression was a threat, and Mikali was not one to forget or lose interest...