As with all things worth doing, being pregnant wasn't easy. Though it was a rewarding experience, it was also singlehandedly the most emotional thing Blake had ever endured. The good and bad melded like a tiny, but intensive rollercoaster. The good days were remarkable and amazing. The bad days were crippling, and this unfortunately, was a bad day.
A very very bad day she prayed didn't get worse.
"What is taking so long?" She murmured to herself, golden eyes flicking down to her mate's hand. The subtle squeeze let her know that she had been heard.
"I don't know." Weiss said under her breath, trying to act the epitome of calm. "What was that blood test from last week used for again?" Weiss asked, her mind a whirl with paperwork. In all honesty, there were so many blood tests for dust induced poisons, vitamin levels, white blood cell count, red blood cell count, and the list went on. Faunus were susceptible to all manners of infections that humans weren't, and there were blood tests for those too…Weiss couldn't keep track anymore.
"Gestational Diabetes. It came back negative. That's not what I'm worried about." Blake said, as she waited for Oobleck to come back from his hyperactive fidgeting from over his filing cabinet.
Weiss sighed, and nodded. "That's right...you're right...it wouldn't be that." She said, rubbing her eyes. "So, why did he do another blood draw..."
Blake shook her head. "He draws blood every visit Weiss, I've learned to stop asking."
"May I remind you, this was not a regularly scheduled appointment."
"I'm abundantly aware." Blake growled under her breath. Her frustrated, fear stricken words carried upon the eat of every exhale. "For the record, I never thought I'd end up with his fingers up my ass."
Weiss bit down on her retort. Blake was worried. Hell, she was worried. Now was not the time to be fighting with her wife. Not seven hours ago, Blake had found blood on her toilet paper. Now, bleeding in strange places was something rather common, if the fact that Blake had started doing that around her gums occasionally was anything to go by. Weiss had ben worried then too, only to find that Oobleck was largely unimpressed and unflappable over the call.
And that was why, when the phone call was made in the midnight hour about the toilet paper blood, she had largely been hoping he would dismiss the entire thing outright. When he asked them to come to Vale, Weiss became a woman possessed. Considering the orifice it had come out of, Weiss had practically flipped her entire household over in aggravated disarray. Not even bothering with public transportation as she ordered her family's personal airbus to fly to Vale as quickly as possible in the middle of the night.
Yang and Ruby, hearing the commotion, had unquestioningly tagged along for the ride. Yang was no doubt pacing around outside the room restlessly. Like a caged tiger waiting to strike. Weiss sympathized, Blake probably would have done the same if she wasn't sitting on the exam table. Clawed fingers tapping against the metal like sharp little pins. Ruby was probably no better, although visually calmer...knowing that Yang would set off just as soon as her younger sister did.
And this, Weiss had long concluded, was what stress did to the members of her team...because if Weiss cracked under the pressure remotely, Blake was liable to crumple beneath it too, and lose it. None of them managed fear well...none of them.
Eventually, Oobleck came back and sat back down. "I honestly wouldn't worry." Oobleck replied after clearing off his desk. "It's just hemorrhoids."
Weiss visibly paled. "Excuse me?" Her fear turned to pure confusion. That was too simple a diagnosis. Too easy and mild an answer. Far lesser than the ones Weiss had been concocting in her brain.
"There's got to be some sort of mistake." Blake said, voice edging on a shattered precipice of exhaustion, hope, and denial. She didn't dare let her guard down.
"There isn't, I assure you." He took a measured sip of his coffee, offering a placating smile, as Bake's ears wilted. "They're common for pregnant women due to increased blood flow. Constipation, and indigestion, both of which you've struggled with, certainly doesn't help matters in that department. Also as the uterus enlarges, it presses on the veins in your colon. That can cause it to bulge…this is fairly normal…in your case I'd say expected. Your mother probably had them too."
"What…what exactly do we do…for…err…" Weiss struggled with the inherently profane word she honestly wished wasn't in her vocabulary.
"Hemorrhoids." Blake disdainfully supplied, feeling foolish…with all of the baby books she'd stuck her nose into, and all of the ranting Velvet provided on the subject, the conclusion should have been obvious…or at least not a cause for such a panic that late at night.
"Treat the symptoms, and try not to let yourself get paranoid. So long as you aren't in any constant pain, bleeding profusely, or feeling anemic, there's little concern." He said casually, trying to soothe the embarrassed Faunus. "As far as managing the discomfort, some people say that sitting in warm baths does the trick. Or I could prescribe some suppositories. However, you're both Beacon graduates. You know proper dust application. If you want my opinion, powder your rear in a gentle dusting of fire dust, and diffuser…let it sit for about an hour, and then shower it off. You can do that as often as you need to."
He promised it was normal, and expected…and that was the best they could hope for.
It was with this reassurance in mind that four exhausted members of team RWBY, watching the sun rise as the SDC's personal airbus took flight. It had taken some time for Blake to explain what was actually wrong with her. She couldn't help the deeply setting blush of embarrassment, even if she knew Yang and Ruby would never belittle her worries…and fair point, her chair now had claw marks where it hadn't before this terrible night…so her fears had gripped her unrelentingly without question.
Being embarrassed was the lesser of the many perceived evils.
"So…I don't want to be gross…" Ruby began slowly, leaning heavily on her armrest. "But, uh, considering I've had plenty of bad experiences with fire dust…I think I should remind you that farts are filled with methane gas…considering how combustible that is, I really don't think fire dust is a good idea."
"Ruby…that's disgusting." Weiss said, not even wanting to think about that.
"She has a point, though." Yang shrugged. "Let one off, and you're really be lighting it."
"I'm sure that's what the diffuser is for." Blake mumbled, watching as Weiss buried her nose deeper into her scroll to avoid this discussion entirely. In fact, her mate looked ready to try to attempt to crawl into it…a sentiment Blake desperately agreed with.
"Blake…"
Puffy golden eyes lifted to the sound of Yang's voice. "I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about." The blonde just sighed, with a shake of her head. "Come on…let's go over into the other room. You can help me finish outlining the training handbook for boot camp…that thing is so out of date, it's not even funny."
Blake was all too willing to take to the offered distraction, and that didn't elude Weiss, who mouthed a small 'thank you' in Yang's general direction.
"So, Blakey...you going to take this off my hands when the pregnancy's all said and one?" Yang asked.
"I can't work when the cubs are infants." Blake said with a shake of her head.
"No...no I meant...after that?"
It was a question on everyone's mind. What would Blake do after her first litter? They wouldn't be babies forever. They would eventually become their own people. Would Blake return to work? With a company as large as the SDC, Weiss needed all the trustworthy people she could get.
"Oh...you mean when the nesting phase is over?" Blake repeated, tasting her best friend's question and finding it baffling. "You know, honestly, I'm not entirely sure yet."
"Well, that only lasts a couple of years…then you know, school happens." Yang shrugged. "Figured you get back to working."
"Unless I get my ovaries removed, my desire to have litters will continue." Blake replied, hand falling over her midriff. "The urges to conceive actually subside after a particular age. Faunus women reach menopause much earlier than human women probably because of that. The problem is, even at my youngest, I'd still be over forty. I have a long time left to want litters, and that urge is strong."
"So…you going to get them taken out?"
"I've, considered it…but, no…I won't." Blake said quietly. "The one luxury of mating a monogamous lesbian, accidents can't happen. I can lose myself to the mating urge all I want, without medical intervention, conception is impossible. I can have this litter and take the wait and see approach. After the cubs are old enough to stray away from my influence a little, and the urge kicks in again, I probably will want another one."
"So, what about the company?" Yang asked.
"This might sound silly, Yang, but progeny calls to me. The thought of leaving behind a powerful alpha appeals to me on an instinctual level. I need to be able to provide a strong legacy. And Weiss, she needs that too, for obvious reasons. There are some children more fit to be that sort of leader than others. If this litter provides docile offspring, I won't love them any less, but I will want to have another."
"You'll be having three kids as it is…" Yang said, her voice clearly perplexed. "Isn't that enough for one of them to take the company?"
"They could all be very timid, Yang, you never know. They may want nothing more than to bow to authority. Or they may grow to be solitary Faunus who don't want or need a social group…not only are those types unable to lead, they have no compunction to. They'd leave the company floundering. You can't force instinct, and if they aren't an alpha, they simply won't have the drive to run the company, take a mate, and produce strong heirs."
"…Sounds rough…"
"No, not at all...you don't have to be stronger than others to be happy." Blake murmured softly. "For example, not all Faunus choose their own mate. Many omega level Faunus certainly don't. They wait for someone to choose them. They find it to be a comfort to be chosen and claimed...it's just nature."
"You've been saying that a lot…never realized how…different it all was…that's all."
"Yang, are you okay?"
For a short time, Yang didn't say anything. She just sat there, elbow on the hard wood, chin tucked into her palm. "You know what? Yeah, for the first time, in a long time…" She trailed off, looking outside, they'd just reached the Atlas border an hour ago.
"Talk about wanting to stray from the nest…" Blake murmured under her breath.
"Huh?" Yang sounded, lifting her gaze to Blake.
"I was just thinking to myself." Blake replied waving her friend off as she too began to gaze out the window.
It was a bitter sweet thought, one that Blake had no words to describe as she also began to watch the ground below them pass them by. Yang had been by her side ever since they'd become teammates, it was hard to think of the day that Yang wouldn't be there. The life Yang wanted to have was no longer among the members of team RWBY…and, she suspected, Yang was starting to realize that too.
Several days later, the ideals of the pompously rich served to drive Blake crazy once more.
She rolled her eyes at the selection of maternity ball gowns that graced her bedroom. In a few weeks there was a going to be a charity event. Like many of them, the SDC would be involved in almost all of the aspects. Even with the fine quality of the dresses, and the shoes, Blake found herself slightly annoyed with the idea. There was only one saving grace. It was going to be held at the corporate headquarters, and not the household. Offering tours and demonstrations of some of the military's finest technology was the primary goal.
And, of course, what sort of party would it be without all of the usual Schnee family luxuries? Dinner, dancing, auctions, and a formal announcement pertaining to Blake's pregnancy…as if it wasn't going to be blatantly obvious to anyone who even looked at her...
She had to choose her dress soon, because Weiss insisted on matching fabric for her own ensemble. "Will you wear a gown, or a suit?" Blake asked, holding up one of the more reserved pieces.
"I haven't decided." Weiss said absently. Working and speaking on autopilot. There was plenty to plan, and that didn't include her normal work. "Winter will be wearing her standard military attire. She has also agreed to be the one performing the live demonstration."
"And Pyrrha is okay with that?" Blake turned around, setting the crimson dress down and inspecting a pastel blue gown that had captured her eye. "I never would have suspected she would want Winter to take over."
"She's exhausted, rightfully. I've asked her, and Jaune for that matter, to keep a watchful eye over you." Weiss grew quiet then, setting her scroll to the side. "Ruby will be unable to attend the event."
"What do you mean?" Blake asked, ears perking curiously.
"She has other places to be, I believe. Sun mentioned something about going to see his relatives in Vacuo. He wanted to take Ruby with him, and personally, I think that's a good idea." Weiss replied distantly, removing her reading glasses made for fine print. "I do have something else I was pondering about though."
"And that would be?"
"Well, we never have discussed your views about circumcision."
"You mean mutilation." Blake retuned.
Weiss backpedaled instantly. "And that's the extent of the conversation we need to have." She said, placing her reading glasses back on. "Never mind, I won't bring it up again."
Her mate rarely backed away from any topic so skittishly. Deciding to get to the bottom of this, Blake went by her side. With care, she pulled off the woman's glasses, and gently eased the tablet from her wife's hand. "Weiss?"
Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm a woman. I feel like it's not particularly my place to have an opinion on it. After all it's not my anatomy. We are having sons, though, and the best thing I can do is make an educated guess on what's the proper choice. However, we are among Atlas elite, it's a common practice…but it's not one we need to participate is. Especially not if you feel so strongly about it. We're not religious. And I don't buy into the medical warfare one way or the other."
Blake wanted to kick herself for her own foolishness. Her defensive standpoint on the subject came from an inherently Faunus taboo. "In the White Fang, all of our alpha and beta males were uncut. We wouldn't choose to cut off an ear, or a tail. Those things are part of us. Faunus view the foreskin in the same light. When I think about all of the males I've seen strutting around in the White Fang, only a small handful were actually circumcised. The ones that did, probably had some sort of medical reason…they wouldn't choose to cut it off otherwise."
"They strut around naked?" Weiss crinkled her nose. That was far more than she wanted to know of Blake's experience with the other gender.
"In the showers, yes. We didn't separate the bathing area by gender." She said simply. "It was by rank. Stronger Faunus, more active in the cause, were the ones to bathe first. We were the ones who enjoyed the hot water…those kinds of luxuries came at a premium in those days."
"And that didn't bother you at all? Showering around men?"
"As a small child I was with my mother and father. And as teen, who ever said I was showering around anyone besides Adam?" Blake gave a little smirk. "My rank promised my privacy…but you need to remember, there were a lot of orphans in the White Fang. Being a high ranking member, part of my duties included looking after them…Adam tended to be very protective of the especially young children."
"Hmm." Weiss replied, recalling her direct disgust the first time she'd ever seen an adult male naked. "Well, it would have bothered me, I'll say that." When she truly took the time to look at one, it was in a textbook. That's when she discovered just how much of a lesbian she was. She could appreciate a handsome looking man, why someone might be interested in them…but unlike a woman, in which she found sexual attraction, she couldn't say the same of men.
As cute, and flirtatious as they could be, once divesting of clothing, she held absolutely no interest whatsoever.
"To be fair," Blake began wearily, a distant little grin on her features. "You screeched bloody murder the first time Yang walked in on you to borrow some shampoo."
"Flirtatious pain in the butt." Weiss muttered, going on about the blonde's lack of appreciation for personal space under her breath.
"She meant well, she was just trying to pull you out of your shell a little bit…we were all girls, so I honestly think she just assumed you wouldn't mind."
"I know that, now…" Weiss said then. "You know…I never did thank Yang after the injury…not really. I mean I might have verbalized it once or twice, but she always jumped at the opportunity to help out. Not that Ruby didn't, but, Yang pushed me through a lot of ugliness I don't think I could have gotten passed on my own. You and Ruby gave me the space when I asked for it, but Yang pushed back. I think…I might have done a lot of regression, if it hadn't been for her."
"I know." Blake said as she came to sit down on the bed, letting out a slow breath as her lower back protested the action. For all of her flexibility, it was getting harder to move around as freely as she used to. Blake turned to her, wondering what she would ever do without those endlessly blue eyes in her life. "Your father took you back to Atlas, refused to take me. I was left stewing in my own hospital bed…knowing Yang was with you, kept me from doing something truly stupid."
Weiss patted Blake's side of the bed. "Enough of that. Come here and hold me." Her wife followed the direction wordlessly, unclasping her bra as she did so. Weiss pulled off her own nightgown, and yanked the blankets over the both of them as she turned to lay on her side. After some shuffling around, and no small effort on Blake's behalf to get comfortable, she finally found herself in that sought after embrace that only Blake could ever provide.
"Better?" Blake murmured.
"Yes." Weiss sighed. "Much."