“Why can’t we just do it normally?” Joohyun grumbled into the phone, the hospital gown doing nothing to stop the chill of the tiled room, her skin rippling with goosebumps.

“Because we both need an heir,” Chaeyoung exasperatedly replied, a few rooms over in an identical gown.

Making a small sound of protest, Joohyun frowned slightly, “ you need an heir. I’m not inheriting any thrones, so technically, this is all on you.”

Her laughter reaching Joohyun through the phone, Chaeyoung let out an amused sigh, “come on, you can’t say you wouldn’t like a kid that’s half you. Besides, King Seonho doesn’t have an heir yet, which leaves you next in line. What if he dies a lonely old man? Our little princess could be the future of both of our lines, which means it needs to have Bae blood.”

“Technically I gave up my claim to the throne to marry you, and well, Seonho should get a move on then, shouldn’t he?” Joohyun prudently replied.

“Well yes, but they’ll rope you back in if they need you. And are you going to back out now? I never took you for a coward, Your Highness. How about we make a wager?”

“Are you goading me into giving up my eggs?” Joohyun laughed.

She felt a nervous flutter in her stomach at Chaeyoung’s warm laugh, her heart filled with love, despite the slightly nauseous feeling. They’d decided to have their DNA combined to ensure the survival of both of their bloodlines, at Chaeyoung’s insistence, which meant that their future daughter could inherit either throne. Joohyun had tried to coerce her into just using a donor, but Chaeyoung had been worried about the logistics of their child inheriting titles and thrones with ties to just one royal house - Joohyun tried to reassure her with the fact that she was a bastard and was still a princess - and Joohyun had slowly been brought around to the idea of a baby girl that was half her and half Chaeyoung. A part of it was her own vanity, thinking about having a child that was a little bit of her, but she could also see the logic in Chaeyoung’s reasoning, and it would leave no qualms about inheritance of thrones if something happened to her brother.

“No, I wouldn’t feel right doing that,” Chaeyoung sighed, “and you know I’d be okay with you not doing it.”

“Well I’m already wearing the stupid gown now,” Joohyun muttered, the stiff fabric crinkling as she ran a hand over it.

A part of her was terrified - not just at the procedure, but at becoming a parent in general - and she was just relieved that carrying their child was something that Chaeyoung wanted to do. It made the prospect a little more bearable with the weight of giving birth lifted off Joohyun’s shoulders, but she couldn’t deny the fact that she had never been one to favour the idea of motherhood. Still, she’d known the day would come - maybe not at the end of her second year of marriage, but she’d known it would come regardless - and so, here she was, about to have her eggs harvested so their DNA could be put through some complex, relatively new and rarely tried procedure so that they could have a beautiful daughter without the interference of a third party.

“It’ll be quick,” Chaeyoung assured her, and then the muffled sound of someone talking drifted through the phone, and she was back a moment later, sounding a little breathless, “okay the doctor’s here. I have to go. Just… try not to think about what they’re doing, okay? I’ll see you afterwards. I love you.”

Joohyun wanted to let out a hysterical laugh at the prospect of trying not to think about the procedure, an amused look on her face as she shook her head. “Good luck. Try not to worry about it, okay? It doesn’t matter if… well, we’ll get there. I love you too.”

Hanging up, she let out a shaky breath, running a hand through her curls and worrying at her perfectly painted red lips with her teeth as she waited for her own doctor to come and perform the exact same procedure on her.

---

“It was difficult, given the circumstances, but we got some viable eggs,” the doctor said, and Chaeyoung let out a sigh of relief, feeling a little woozy from the drugs. It hadn’t hurt, but she felt a bit uncomfortable as she sat in her own clothes, listening to her doctor report the success of the procedure. “Once we’ve fertilised your egg with Her Highness’ then we’ll implant it and hopefully have an heir on its way. We’ll give you a course of drugs to help with your condition, and keep our fingers crossed that the procedure works.”

“Thank you,” Chaeyoung murmured, her stomach twisting with nerves.

She knew she wasn’t the best option for carrying their child - as soon as they’d decided to get a headstart on parenthood, with the multiple tests and exams it hadn’t taken long for them to find cysts - but Chaeyoung knew that Joohyun didn’t want to carry their child. So she would try and carry it anyway. The thought of having a daughter was enough to motivate her to