Chapter 7: Confirming Suspicions
"There's also a little bump on my belly." Ruby continued, as if she hadn't heard his response. Now Jet fell silent, giving Ruby an expression that was caught between shock, and thoughtful contemplation.
"Ruby…" he said slowly, as if choosing his words carefully, "that isn't possible. We never did it."
"Yes we did. Back at the hotel, remember?" Ruby asked. Jet was thinking, hard. There was absolutely no possibility that that could have happened. Ruby hadn't been anywhere close to nude near him. Unless…
Jet cast his mind back to that time when they were in the bath.
Ruby leaned back into Jet's arms as he began. Jet recalled the warmth of the water and the openness of the bathing suits themselves. Honestly, they might as well have had nothing on.
"Time for the present itself." he said in a mix between his causal voice and a quiet sensual one as he massaged Ruby's bare shoulders, and he felt her relax as he worked across her back. Every now and then, a particularly tight knot would cause Jet to need a little more pressure, but Ruby simply stretched out. Jet could hear happy moans from his lover, and sought to give her the most pleasure that he could.
As he worked, he felt a hard-on coming, but ignored it, focussed on Ruby. As he finished on her back, he realised that his member had suddenly burst from his suit and was hovering dangerously near Ruby's nether regions. Realising this with a panic, Jet flipped her around so that he could do her front, using the momentary distraction to seal his privates in the bathing suit.
He gazed upon her sweet little body, feeling a great desire to ravish her right then and there, if his erect member was any indication, but he banished such thoughts to the depths of his mind within seconds and continued with the massage. He made a point about avoiding her private parts as he moved, slowly but sensually, across Ruby's front, lest he lose control.
That one time. Was it possible that something had gotten inside Ruby from his being that close? The chances were minute, but he couldn't take the risk.
"Yang told me about this." Ruby continued. "Am I pregnant?"
There it was. That word that would ruin him if it was true.
"I don't think you are. Is it okay if I check your stomach?" Jet asked, and she saw Ruby flash an infuriatingly sensuous expression at him. The little sap.
"You shouldn't have to ask my permission." Ruby replied, raising the shirt she was wearing.
"This is serious." Jet said shortly, and he watched the smile on Ruby's face fall. "Do you know what happens if this is true?" As he said this, he crouched and examined Ruby's stomach. The pure white skin was soft to the touch, like the rest of her.
"Um… no." Ruby replied from above. At least she's honest. Jet thought, and he located the bump Ruby was talking about. It was small, but it was definitely there. Unsettlingly, it reminded Jet of a human head. Jet stood up and took a step back, allowing Ruby to lower her shirt. She gazed upon him with a curious expression.
"Pregnancy is where you get ready to have a baby. It grows here." Jet explained, putting a hand on the bump that he'd felt before. He looked up to see a worried expression on Ruby's face.
"I can't have a baby now!" she exclaimed. "I'm still at school!" Jet waved his hands in a 'calm down' motion.
"I'm going to call Lilac over. This is her kind of field after all." Jet said decisively, spinning to face the door, and was about to stop time again when Ruby reached out and grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn around.
"Stay with me, no matter what she does. Please." she pleaded, looking like a begging puppy. Jet leant down ever so lightly and kissed her full on the lips. He made it short, and she looked somewhat downtrodden that it had ended so quickly.
"I'll give you more after I've seen this through." he reassured, then stopped time and watched as she froze, still with the sad expression on her face, one hand on her stomach. Jet immediately hurried through the door and back to where his team was, not bothering with their signals as they were very close.
He strode down the grey corridor, eyes searching, all the while contemplating what were to happen if Ruby was indeed pregnant and that one-in-a-million chance had actually occurred. Would he want a child with Ruby?
That was obvious. No. It would impact his studies and force him to neglect his training in favour of caring for the child. Ruby would be affected the same way. There again…
He didn't know how Ruby truly felt. Sure, her reaction initially spoke great lengths against the child, but was that how she really felt? He wasn't sure.
Jet was spared further questioning by his own mind when he reached the corridor. Izzet, Lilac and Nouvelle were all there, the latter halfway through a conversation with the former. Lilac stood slightly apart from the pair, and Jet reached out and grasped her hand. She regained her colour and gasped in fright at the sudden change of colour in her eyes.
Without a word, Jet lead her back to Ruby, fear brewing in his heart as to the mystery's uncovering.
Jet stood behind Ruby as he and Lilac returned from the time-stop, making Ruby jump as she continued to feel the bump she had found. Jet felt another surge of worry as she looked up at him, but then dragged his mind back where it was needed.
"Lilac, I need you to use Electro Read." Jet commanded, then turned to Ruby as Lilac approached her. "Remember how Soul Read allows Nouvelle to see your emotions? Lilac's Electro Read gives her the ability to see as if she were an X Ray machine."
Lilac focussed on Ruby's, and Jet watched as her eyes turned a bright green, similar to a neon light. He watched as she changed the brightness of her eyes by small amounts with a frown on her face. Jet saw Ruby looking at him, and made eye contact.
'Let Lilac do her thing, and then we'll know.' Jet thought, using Izzet's telepathy. He saw Ruby reach out a small hand, and he took it in his own, knowing Lilac was currently focussed on her stomach, and that this wouldn't affect things much. He felt his heart stop for a moment when Lilac said aloud "Oh dear", and Ruby gave Jet a frightened look.
She never wanted this to happen.
"Finished!" Lilac said cheerfully as her eyes resumed the colour of her namesake.
"And?" Jet asked insistently, as he sat on the bed next to Ruby, who curled her arms around him as she gazed at Nouvelle,
"Good news and bad news." Lilac replied. "Good news is that Ruby isn't pregnant."
"Thank goodness!" Ruby exclaimed as she bounced up and down happily, but Jet didn't allow her to calm him down or for that same relief to enter his heart. "And the bad news?" he asked, effectively silencing Ruby.
"Ruby's still sick with that food poisoning, though it's only a little." Lilac replied. "That, along with too many cookies, and the thing with the grass, was what made her throw up that time. Buuuut, this part you might not want to hear."
"What?" Both Ruby and Jet asked at the same time, causing Lilac to chuckle.
"Ruby's putting on weight." she answered. Jet turned to Ruby, and he knew the confused look that was surely on his face.
"W-what?" Ruby stuttered embarrassedly, as a blush came in full-force. Jet was anxious too, but it seemed that, when Ruby ran, she easily burned up all the calories that she ate, plus some.
"Hang on." Jet said, now growing a little suspicious. "Do you mind if I feel your stomach again, Ruby?"
"It's kinda getting old." Ruby grumbled, but after Jet gave her a withering glare, she lifted the shirt she was wearing. If truth be told, Jet was doing it partly because he wanted to feel that soft skin again, but he wouldn't let that distract him. He found the lump and rubbed, applying a little pressure, hearing a surprised 'ah' from Ruby.
"I knew it." Jet muttered audibly as he continued rubbing, now more for Ruby than his suspicions. "This isn't fat. It's loose skin."
"Loose skin?" Ruby asked hesitantly. "Have I been training too much?"
"Pretty frikin' much." Jet growled, unconsciously switching to his casual voice, and regretting the slip once he heard Lilac giggle behind him. It mattered little. "But something tells me you wanted to be thinner."
"I was going to ask you actually, can you meet me near the dorms tonight?" Ruby asked.
"Is this a date I hear?" Lilac asked, and Jet gave a little jolt.
"Seems to me." Jet responded, and heard a huff behind him. Without turning around, he continued. "Let Izzet and Nouvelle know that I'm well and will meet again tonight, after I've been with Ruby."
"Of course." Lilac responded, before she left the room.
"Why do you order them around like that?" Ruby asked, giving Jet a disparaging look.
"I know a lot about leadership." Jet replied calmly. "They know about my fighting strength, and we've created a bond of friendship since before Beacon. By some miracle, we became a team, and they trust my judgement. Is that enough?"
"You just could be a little nicer, you know." Ruby half-retorted, and Jet smiled despite himself.
"Ruby, if I tried that approach, we would have fallen apart a long time ago. My teammates do openly admit that they need a firm hand to guide them." Jet chuckled. "So when would you like to meet for this outing you have planned?"
"Tonight. And it isn't an outing." Ruby replied.
"Interesting." Jet remarked after a pause. "I guess I'll let you keep the element of surprise."
"What. The. Actual-" Jet said, shocked, before a soft hand covered his mouth.
It was midnight, and Ruby had snuck out of her dorm as Jet had expected. The gates were locked, but there again, what use was a gate to contain someone with wings? They now sat upon Sunset Hill, and Ruby had gone to get changed. She had just returned.
With a full moon out, the light illuminated his surroundings better than any light could. And what he saw was both cute and shocking. So much so that the hand covering his mouth was effectively not needed, for he was speechless.
In front of him crouched Ruby, who was in a casual red coat and matching trousers. What surprised Jet so much was the black and white fluffy cat ears that protruded from within her hair, and the tail that emerged from the skirt. As he watched, Ruby knelt down in front of him and raised her arms, with her hands pointed downwards in a very good imitation of a kitten, her ears rising up and her tail wagging.