Prompt: Expecting
A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! Some Yuten for you.
She served him tea on a platter, and that should have been the first sign that something was wrong.
Lu Ten wondered if it- the error, the sign- was a figment of his imagination. He'd never been reduced to such a thought process- things to do with the abstract, unnatural, or foreboding were better left to his moody cousin- but he figured he'd give it a try. Lu Ten blinked. The tray remained solid. He glanced at Yue; she'd taken the seat opposite him, sinking into the low cushion, her dark hands cupping a steaming cup.
Lu Ten stared at the tea tray, almost challenging it, and wondered if the obscene thing would ever be removed.
Yue did not pick up on his signals, even when his eyes bore into her. Her eyes, downcast and preoccupied, were trained on something beyond her cup of tea. Lu Ten sighed. Then he sighed again, loudly and dramatically. But Yue's rigid back did not bend, her eyes did not shift, and Lu Ten was, once again, at a loss.
"Yue?"
His voice seemed to reach her in some faraway place, for it was a moment before she looked up- and even then, it was only a cursory glance.
"Yes?" said she, in a voice that was not at all hers.
"You've given me tea," he said, perplexed.
"Yes," Yue said again, and deeming the matter concluded, returned to her study of the cup in her hands.
For a moment, Lu Ten's mouth hung open. Then: "Yue, are you alright?"
For the third time, and after a pause: "Yes."
Lu Ten decided then to indulge. Just this once. Perhaps his reaction, his imminent reaction, would shock Yue from her near-comatose state. Swallowing on a suddenly dry throat, Lu Ten reached forward and cupped the tea. He took a breath, then took a swallow.
His memory did not fail him. As soon as the horrid taste touched his tongue, his very soul seemed to cringe, and he immediately spit it all up, ridding himself of the offending liquid.
Yue blinked. "What are you doing?"
Despite the front of his tunic being damp and stinging slightly from the heat of the tea, Lu Ten grinned. "Well, good morning."
Her eyes- finally bright, finally responding- narrowed. "What are you talking about?"
Lu Ten held up the cup, wiping of his chin with the back of his free hand. "You gave me tea."
Yue blanched. "What?"
Lu Ten shrugged. "You tell me."
"That's impossible, I know you hate tea."
Lu Ten shook the cup. "You did. Now, tell me what's happened."
Yue seemed to falter; her lids swept down to cover her eyes, and roses filled her cheeks as she blushed. "I didn't… I mean.. oh, spirits. I don't know how to tell you this."
Lu Ten threw aside the cup and leaned forward. "Tell me."
She heaved a sigh. "Alright. Well. Do you think certain things, like a liking for tea, are passed from father to son?"
Lu Ten scoffed. "Obviously not. Have you met my father?"
Yue grinned, casting her eyes upward for a moment, as though his answer didn't matter, nothing but her thoughts at that very moment did. She too leaned forward, and then took his hands. "Well." She spoke slowly, her eyes boring into his, smiling impossibly. "That's a shame. Because you're such a handsome man."
It took Lu Ten a moment to understand. When he did, his face seemed to struggle in forming a fitting reaction. "No," he breathed.
"Yes," said she. Her brow creased, and she moved back. "And that's not the best way to react. I didn't expect you to laugh, or to be explicitly happy, but you won't be serving for the next few months and we're in a lull, and honestly this is the best timing-"
Lu Ten broke off her words with a kiss, his eyes closing as he absorbed the news. A child- a combination of the sun and the moon. The child was quite lucky, he decided; quite lucky.
