New Blood
by RobertCop3
So, this is a fluff fic I came up with after reading one of the reviews of my smutty one-shot "Sexual Healing." It takes place on my main Fatal Fury/KoF timeline after Andy and Mai have been married for a few years. There isn't a lot of plot in this one, per se, it's just a collection of fluffy "slice of life" moments following the couple's journey to start a family, from the conception of their first-born up to the date of his birth. But I've enjoyed writing it, because Andy/Mai fluff is my thing, man (sorry, Rex!), so I hope you all enjoy reading it.
The cover image for this fic was drawn by shadowpencil on Deviantart. He's actually drawn several pics of pregnant Mai, so I recommend checking out his page if you want to see more.
All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them, the video games, or the anime.
Chapter One: The Joys of Conceiving
Mino, Japan – The Shiranui Dojo – February 1st, 2001.
It was an unusually mild winter day, which meant that the snowstorm originally in the forecast was a rainstorm instead. In the master bedroom she shared with her husband, Mai Shiranui-Bogard lay on her back beneath the covers of the futon, listening to the rain slash against the nearby window, and the occasional rumble of thunder.
She wondered if the winter thunderstorm outside was the reason that Andy had been so eager with her. The couple had just finished making love, and Mai felt a small ache in her body from the urgency with which Andy had taken her. Not that she minded. She liked it when Andy got rough, and if she had trouble walking afterwards, it was still far better than any ache she got from fighting.
Of course, I did tease him, so it was partly my fault. Thirty minutes before they'd wound up in bed together, Andy had been practicing in the gym when he'd heard a knock from the doorway. He'd turned to see his wife standing there, wearing nothing but a smile, holding a fan in each hand, and using them to conceal her nudity. "Come to bed with me," Mai had purred at her husband. "I'm fairly certain I'm ovulating right now, so I need you ASAP." After that, it hadn't taken much for Andy to give up control.
Still on her back, Mai glanced over to her left, saw Andy Bogard laying next to her beneath the sheets, also on his back. His eyes were shut, his breathing still a little heavy, a thin sheen of sweat coating his muscular body. Mai had to resist the urge to crawl over and snuggle him. There was something she needed to do first.
On the other side of the futon, Andy's blue eyes slowly came open. By now, he'd expected to feel the familiar warmth of his wife's body wrapped around him, as Mai never missed a chance to cuddle him after their lovemaking. He sat up a little, and saw that Mai was still on her back, her legs tucked up against her, knees resting on her chin. Her arms were wrapped around her shins, and she rocked gently from side to side.
"Um, Mai..." Andy asked her. "What... what is that you're doing?"
"Oh, this?" Mai turned her head to look at her husband, but she remained in the same position, doing the same gentle motion. "I read about this on the internet. Supposedly, this position makes it easier for your swimmers to... you know, get where they need to go."
Andy had to suppress a laugh. Ever since the dojo had gotten the internet connection last year, it had been a mixed blessing. On the one hand, a home computer was great at keeping the personal data and the progress for each of their students organized in a format that was easy to update. But on the other hand, ever since Mai had stopped taking her birth control pill at the start of the New Year (they'd had a discussion a few months before then, and decided that after Mai's twenty-seventh birthday, they would start to try for a baby), she kept finding all these websites and chat rooms on the subject of pregnancy and female anatomy. And she was always eager to share her findings with Andy, though Andy was not always eager to hear it. In the last month, he'd probably learned more about how vaginas worked than any man cared to know.
"You know, I'm actually relieved that Hanzo-sensei didn't live to see the dojo get internet," he remarked. "I think he'd have called it 'an invention for fools.'"
Mai rolled her eyes, but in the end, she relented. "I know that's what he would have called it. And yes, I know that not everything on it is fact. But I feel that the pregnant gals I've been talking to in chat rooms would at least know something."
"Still," said Andy. "Since you're so eager to research it, I'd feel better if you got some pamphlets from your doctor, or maybe check out a book from the library written by a doctor."
Mai giggled. "It's a new millenium, Andy. We gotta change with the times. Everything is going digital now."
"Doesn't mean we have to stop getting our advice from experts. I mean, how do you know the person that told you about that... tucked-up, rocking thing you're doing... is an expert?"
Mai giggled even harder and stretched her legs out again. "You really are an old soul. But that's why I love you." She then inched over to his side of the futon and snuggled up against him. "Okay, Andy... I will get a book or two from the library, written by a doctor. But I'd like us to read it together."
"Do I gotta, Mai?" Andy asked her, uttering a phrase he'd not used in a very long time, one that he now only saved for when he really needed it.
Mai giggled and lightly slapped one of his pecs. "Yes, my love. You do. We're a team, remember? Even though I'm gonna be the one carrying this kid, I still want you to be a part of the experience. As much as you can be."
Andy laughed and kissed Mai on her brow. "All right. You agreed to get a real book on the subject, so the least I can do is read it with you. That's fair."
For a while, they just lay there, Mai's warm body pressed against Andy's, both of them listening to the rain drumming on the roof. Then Mai said: "It's also fair to tell you, Andy, that there's a chance this might not take."
"What do you mean?" Andy asked her.
Mai propped herself up on one elbow and started to rub her husband's cheek. "Well, the test I took before I came to get you told me I was ovulating, but these tests aren't a hundred percent accurate. Also, it can't tell me when I started. It could have started yesterday, in which case the egg may have dried up already."
"So... what you're saying," Andy told her. "Is that there's a chance that you and I might have to have do this again? Mai, that's so unfair."
Mai giggled, and ran the tips of her fingers up and down Andy's ab muscles. "Andy, you are so hot when you use sarcasm." She then pressed her lips to his in a slow, deep kiss. "Speaking of again, are you ready for another round?"
"If you insist," Andy said, still using the same sarcastic tone. Mai kept giggling, until Andy silenced her with a kiss, and then they began...
February 5th, 2001
The hour was late, and Andy sat in bed, reading through the lesson plans for the coming week. Earlier, he'd tried printing off a spreadsheet grouping their students by how far along they had come in their studies, and the katas each one should be practicing based on that. But for some reason, the sheet he'd printed contained a bunch of random Japanese characters that didn't even spell words.
"I'm convinced that computer is alive, and doesn't like me," Andy had told his wife.
Mai giggled and said: "Because it knows you're an old soul, honey. Here, let me print it for you."
Andy was now looking over the sheet Mai had printed, making sure everything looked good before Mai got out of the bathroom. The wink she'd given him before she started her shower told him that he'd better not be holding a spreadsheet by the time she was finished.
The bathroom door opened a few minutes later, and Mai emerged with a towel wrapped around her body, and another wrapped around her hair, looking extremely annoyed. Andy quickly moved the spreadsheet to his nightstand as silently as possible. "Everything okay?" He asked her.
"Bad news, Andy," said Mai. "It started while I was in the shower."
Andy looked confused until Mai pointed a finger downwards. "Oh," he said with an understanding nod. "I'm sorry, Mai."
The ninja girl said nothing. She simply walked to her dresser, dropped her towel, and donned a pair of hip-hugging boy-shorts and a red chemise. She then moved to her vanity, unwrapped the second towel, and started to finish her hair.
"Lots of couples don't get it on the first try," Andy added. "It just means we need to try again. We've got time, Mai. It'll happen."
Mai paused in the act of brushing her long, copper hair. "I know it will, Andy. It was wishful thinking that it might happen on the first try. It's just... ever since I've been in love with you, back in high school, I've dreamed of someday having your baby. That's a long time to dream, but... you're right. We'll get it eventually. The thing annoying me the most is that... I really wanted you to do me tonight, and now we can't." She resumed brushing, and then used an elastic to tie her hair back. She then got up and made her way over to the futon.
Andy smiled and offered her his arms. "We can still cuddle, if you want."
Mai found her frustrations melting at the sight of her husband's smile. How does he do that to me so easily? She then thought about how demanding she'd been over the last few days, constantly interrupting him because she was so eager for a kid, and decided that she wanted to make it up to him now.
"We could, Andy," she said, as a flirty smile crept over her lips. "But not yet. I want to do something else first." She crawled over to him, and then pressed her lips to his, kissing him passionately. "If I can't have you one way, I can still have you another way." Her kisses traveled down his neck, then his chest, while her hands reached for the waistband on his sweatpants.
"Mai," Andy asked her. "What are you doing?"
Mai paused and gazed lustfully up at him. "I'm doing my wifey duties," she said in her cute/sexy voice. "And giving my handsome hubby something to tide him over until I'm off the rag."
Andy placed his hands on Mai's shoulders. "It's okay, Mai, you don't have to do that."
Mai's brow scrunched up in frustration. "You're right, I don't have to do it. But I want to. Honestly, Andy, what man says 'no' to something like this?"
"Well, it's just that... I can't do anything for you in return, so... it doesn't seem fair."
Mai gave a sigh and shook her head at her husband. "Andy, that's very sweet of you to say. But you already do so much for me in bed. Sometimes I just want to give you something back, even though I know you can't return the favor. So relax and enjoy this. You deserve it, okay? And I'm happy to give it to you, I really am."
Andy smiled at her and gently caressed her cheek. "Okay, Mai. Continue with your 'wifey duties.'"
"Yes, sir," Mai said with a giggle, and continued to move her head downwards. A short time later, her wifey duties completed, Mai was propped up on her own pillow, while Andy leaned back against her, head resting on her bosom, dozing lightly with a smile on his face.
"That was the best, Mai," Andy whispered. "Thank you."
Mai wrapped her arms around Andy's waist. "It was my pleasure," she whispered back. "I want you to let me do things like this for you more often, because you don't let me do them enough, okay?"
Andy gave a sigh of contentment. "I don't deserve you."
Mai giggled. "The fact that you would say that is exactly why you do." Mai kissed him tenderly on the cheek. "Now get some rest, my love. You'll need it this time next week." With that, Mai reached over and switched off her bedside lamp.
February 20th, 2001
"Aaaaaan-deeee..."
Andy Bogard heard his name being called sweetly from the doorway of the study. He turned from the computer, where he was trying to print out something last minute before their students began to arrive for class, and saw Mai Shiranui-Bogard standing there in her red and white kunoichi uniform, hands resting on her hips in a very alluring pose.
"I just took a teeeest..." Mai purred, as she started towards her husband.
Andy rolled his eyes. "How many of those did you buy?"
"Enough. And it said that..."
"Let me guess: you're fertile!"
"Ding ding ding! Correct! And for guessing the right answer, you get a reward!"
Mai began to untie the white sash around her waist, pretty much the only thing that held her costume on, but Andy raised a hand.
"Mai, our students will start arriving in about ten minutes!"
"Then you'd better give me a quickie."
"Right... right here?"
"Mm hm. We gotta do this before it's too late!"
"No, Mai, this time I have to put my foot down. It's too risky! There's too much of a chance someone might walk in. We can do it after class!"
Mai made a pouty face, pursing her full red lips. "But then it might be too late! Come on, Andy!" Her expression changed then, and she flashed Andy a coy wink. "Consider it a challenge: can you finish in under five minutes?"
"Mai..." Andy started to protest again, but Mai finished untying her sash, shrugged her uniform off onto the floor, and now stood there in only her panties and her tabi socks. The sight of that, along with Mai's use of the "C" word, destroyed any resistance Andy had left.
He sighed in defeat and started to untie the waist sash on his own fighting outfit. "All right. Get over here..."
April 15th, 2001
Andy Bogard should have been feeling relief as he stood on the tatami mats in the center of the dojo's gym and entered into his warm-up katas. Mai was currently out of the house, which meant that Andy had some much-needed alone time to polish his techniques. The last several weeks had been taxing on him, to the point where Andy was surprised he hadn't lost weight.
When Mai had gotten her period at the 1st of March, she was convinced that the store-bought ovulation tests were a scam, so she began to look up other ways of testing online. Most of the methods she found there relied on monitoring things like heart rate and her body's Ph. The only problem was, these were even less reliable, so Mai always thought she was ovulating, and was constantly interrupting Andy's daily routines, demanding that he give her the business. It was getting so bad that Mai had even tried to instigate it one evening while they were on a date, and had come this close to dragging her husband into the ladies room of the movie theater for a quickie. Andy had put his foot down at that one, saying that Mai was not going to get it until they were home. So they'd left without seeing the end of the movie.
The worst part about it was, Andy had always enjoyed making love to his wife. Really enjoyed it. A woman like Mai was a unique flower, so Andy had always tried to treat her as such in bed. But Mai was demanding it so much lately, it was starting to feel less like a special, intimate bond between just the two of them, and more like a chore. Andy hated himself for thinking that, but he was reaching his wit's end.
So he should have been feeling relief right now that he had this time to relax, and work on his ninjitsu. Instead, he felt worried. Mai had left for the doctor's office a few hours ago (they'd been doing it so much lately, that she only recently noticed she hadn't had her period at the start of April), and Andy felt that there was probably another reason she hadn't come home yet. But still... she'd been gone far longer than a checkup should have taken. And if Mai had decided to run errands afterwards, she'd have called the dojo from the waiting room to tell Andy that.
After trying for the fifth time to make it through his warm-ups, and stumbling yet again, Andy realized he wouldn't be able to concentrate. So he left the gym, walked to the master bedroom, stripped off his workout clothes, and grabbed a shower. After getting out, he put on a clean white tunic and slacks, and moved to the reading room to study one of the Shiranui clan scrolls.
He didn't know how long he'd been reading when he heard a familiar, cheery voice call from the foyer: "Tadaima!" Andy got up and made his way out of the reading room, down the hall, and to the entryway, where he saw his wife removing her rain boots.
Mai Shiranui-Bogard smiled cheerfully when she saw her husband in the frame of the doorway. "Hi, Andy!" She said in her usual bubbly voice. "God, it's wet out there today!" She then took off her jacket and hung it on a peg on the wall, hanging her umbrella next to it a moment later.
"That took a while," Andy remarked. "Was the doctor busy?"
"Oh, I was gone a long time, wasn't I?" Mai asked him. Then she walked over to the doorway and put her arms around his waist. "I'm sorry, honey, I had to make a stop on the way home."
"I figured that's what it was. Where'd you go?"
"Oh... just to the cemetery, to have a chat with the family."
"Is everything okay?" Andy asked her.
Mai gazed up at him, then, her sparkling brown eyes looking more radiant than they usually did. "Everything is fine, Andy. Everything's perfect. I just wanted my family to be the first to hear the news... that in about eight months, you and I are gonna be parents."
It took Andy a moment to register what that meant, and then his jaw dropped open. "You... you're pregnant?"
"Mm hm," Mai said with a nod. "For about four or five weeks now."
"Do... do we know if it's okay?"
Mai shook her head. "It's still too soon to tell. I go back to them in about five weeks for an ultrasound, and then they should be able to hear a heartbeat."
Andy stood there in the entryway with his mouth still open, his blue eyes looking slightly past Mai now. "Andy," he heard her say, and so he turned his gaze back to her. "I know this is an entirely new thing for you to process. So talk to me, okay? What are you thinking?" Her hand moved to the center of his chest. "What are you feeling? You know you can tell me anything."
"I..." Andy started to say. "I feel..." It was one of those moments where Andy had so much he wanted to say, his words failed him completely. He felt relief that his first ordeal was over, but anxious that a new one would soon begin. He was excited, but also a little scared at the idea of being a father. As always, he felt his undying love for his wife. So many different feelings all at once, he didn't know what to say. So he chose the only other form of expression he knew, when it came to Mai.
He leaned down, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her closer, kissing her firmly, yet so tenderly on her lips, with that intense passion that always left Mai breathless. The ninja girl leaned into the kiss as much as she could, letting herself become lost in the overwhelming sensation of it, as she always enjoyed doing whenever Andy kissed her this way.
Finally, he pulled his lips back and smiled down at her, lightly caressing his cheek. "I love you, Mai," he said. "I've never been happier to be your husband. That's... what I feel the most right now."
A tear of joy escaped Mai's eye. "I love you so much," she whispered, and then they locked lips again.
After the second kiss had ended, Mai said: "Come on, Andy, let's get out of this drafty foyer and get warm in bed together. We've got some celebrating to do."
Andy's brow then creased with worry. "Um, are you sure we can still do... you know... that? I mean, like it won't..."
Mai laughed, and then pressed her lips against Andy's again in a soft, moist kiss. After she came up for air, she laughed some more, and said: "God, you are just so adorable. Yes, Andy, of course we can still have sex. We're not gonna hurt the baby. It won't even know what we're doing!"
She could tell by his expression that Andy had one more misgiving, so Mai quickly added: "I didn't read that online. My OB/GYN told me it was safe."
Andy sighed with relief. "Oh. Okay, then." With that, Andy picked his wife up off the floor and carried her bridal-style to their bedroom, with Mai giggling and squealing the entire way.
A short time later, after the deed was done, the couple lay together under the covers, Andy spooning against Mai from behind. Andy's muscular arms were wrapped around her, one hand resting gently, almost protectively, over her stomach. He'd always been protective of his wife (which Mai thought was cute, as long as Andy remembered that she was a ninja, and didn't need to be looked after 24-7), but this time he felt there was another level to it, because Mai had a life inside of her womb. His child. Laying there now, Andy made a silent vow to himself that he'd die before he ever saw his wife or their child come to harm.
"I love you, Andy," Mai whispered softly to him. "I know I've been... a little demanding over the last month. So I'm sorry if I've been wearing you out."
Andy sighed happily and took in a breath, enjoying the floral bouquet of Mai's hair. "It's okay, Mai," he said. "I'm just glad I'll be getting a little break. I mean, don't get me wrong: I always enjoy making love to you. What man wouldn't? But, given how much of it you were demanding from me lately, and the circumstances around some of those times, I was afraid that it was starting to lose its intimacy."
Mai rolled over to face him then, propped her head up with her elbow. "Andy... I wish you'd said something sooner. I'm sorry you felt that way. Honestly, the sex felt more intimate to me. Maybe because we weren't just doing it out of pure lust, or to satisfy some basic need. We were doing it specifically to make a baby, the ultimate expression of our love for each other. To me, that just made it feel even more erotic."
Andy moved his gaze away from his wife's beautiful eyes, down towards the pillow, as he processed what Mai had said. "I'm the one who's sorry, Mai. I'm sorry I never had that same realization."
Mai giggled and cupped his chin with her other hand, raised his head up again to face her. "That's okay, Andy. I'm sure it was harder for you. I mean, I have been acting like some crazy succubus who was out to harvest your seed, and for that I'm sorry. Tell you what... let me make it up to you?"
Andy smiled and raised one eyebrow. "How?"
"Well, I could cook you spaghetti and natto tonight. And then after dinner, we could take a bath together, and I can perform my 'wifey duties.' You haven't let me do that to you in a while."
Andy laughed and kissed his wife on the forehead. "You drive a hard bargain, Mai," he said. "I accept."
"Great!" Mai said, and kissed Andy back. She then shifted track for a moment, as the realization of just how their lives were going to change started to set in. "I can't wait to start calling people, Andy. First, we need to call your brother and Mary, then we need to call Joe, we need to call the Sakazakis, and King, and Athena, and Chizuru, and Xiangfei..." As the ninja girl spoke, her voice rose to a squeal. "Oh, Andy, this is so exciting! We're having a baby!"
Andy simply smiled at his wife's enthusiasm. "Before we start making calls," he said to her. "Can we just rest here a little longer?"
Mai smiled back and snuggled up against her husband. "Of course we can, Andy."
Andy leaned down and gave Mai a deep, passionate kiss. "I love you," he whispered to her after coming up for air.
"I love you," Mai whispered back, and rested her head against the nape of his neck. The two lovers lay there in each others' arms for at least another hour, enjoying the moment of blessed tranquility, knowing that such moments would get fewer and farther between in the coming months, as their lives were going to get a lot more hectic...
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Special thanks to JojoDO, who proofread several parts of this chapter. I wanted this fic to be T-Rated, but we are dealing with how babies are made, so it runs the risk of getting too racy. Jojo's feedback probably saved this from getting an M Rating. I owe you a steak dinner if we ever meet in person, Jojo.
Also, the reason this fic takes place in the year 2001 is because that's also the year my fanfic "No Touching" takes place, and I do make mention in that story that Mai and Andy are expecting. And since the characters actually age in my timeline, Mai would turn twenty-seven on January 1st, 2001.
And I assume you already knew what I meant, but just in case you didn't, "wifey duties" = "blowjob."
Hope to have another chapter up soon. Just wanted to reiterate: very little plot in this one. Just slices of life throughout those nine months. Thanks for reading thus far. Please review and let me know if I kept it T-Rated.