Ch 5: Cat's In The Cradle
The trip by boat was long. It Took a few days and in that time, Yang and Blake's scrolls had died. Yang didn't see much point in charging hers as it was useless over the water anyway. Blake decided not to charge hers either. Her family didn't know she was coming and without their scrolls, they could enjoy the trip with just the two of them, almost like a much needed vacation.
The crew and captain remembered Blake from when she saved the ship from a Sea Feilong with Sun years ago. They were more than happy to give her this trip for free. Blake gave Yang the story of course.
It was the last night on the boat. Yang and Blake were curled up together on one of the beds in their cabin. They had forgotten about the other bunk from the start, simply using it to store things. No way were they going to sleep separately. Yang had an arm tucked behind her head, the other was wrapped around the cat faunus who was comfortably cuddled into Yang's body, laid on top of Yang. The bed was very small after all and it was really the only way they both fit.
The cat ears flicked and fluttered each time Yang exhaled, the air brushing against the soft fur. Blake's ears were always sensitive and this was making her spine tingle. She gave a warning nip at Yang to try to get her attention and the blonde giggled, kissing between the ears and turning her face a bit to redirect her breaths, "Sorry Kitten. It's a bit cramped, you know."
The amber eyes rolled and she turned to give a glance at her brawler, "Maybe I should get up then."
Yang instantly gave a pout at her wife's taunt, holding her more tightly to herself, "Blake that's not funny! Don't you dare."
A sweet smirk turned Blake's lips and she nuzzled Yang's neck, laying soft kisses along the skin for a moment feeling Yang's body shiver beneath her before she stopped. The blonde groaned but she knew it was simple pay back and didn't let herself get excited. It would be difficult to enjoy intimacy in this cramped bed anyway. Regardless, Yang gave a sort of warning whine of her wife's name and Blake just chuckled a bit and tucked her face into Yang's neck, letting her eyes close.
It was cold in the room from the chilled sea air and Yang's body was so comfortably warm for the faunus. The strong but gentle hand rubbing back and forth mindlessly on her back was also comforting and warm to the touch. Yang's eyes watched Blake for a while before she glanced out the window to the night sky, "Hey Blake, how do you think your parents will take the news anyways? I know your dad wasn't my biggest fan when we got married and all…"
She remembered how Blake's father, Ghira, had given her a scare when they first met and he didn't exactly seem fully happy at their wedding. Blake laughed lightly, rubbing her hand into Yang's bicep, thinking of when her father met Sun compared to when he met Yang. While he did take Yang off to have a one on one that Yang came back pale from, he had never said anything directly about disliking her.
"Trust me… if he didn't like you nothing would stop him from just saying so out right. He is just looking out for his only child so don't worry too much. Plus, my mom loves you so she would never just let him do anything serious to you," the faunus said playfully though her voice evened out as she continued, "He was just worried at first. You are the only human I've ever been with after all and he has just seen a lot of prejudices in his years. You can't blame him for worrying about his little girl. Faunus get very protective of their litter, more so even than humans."
Yang's eyes turned back to the cat and she couldn't resist the urge to lighten the mood, "Litters huh? So, you do relate to animals then."
When teeth bit her arm harder than she would like, Yang flinched and quickly apologized for the tasteless joke. Her arm slid down to wrap around Blake's lower back and rest her hand on the portion of her stomach that it could reach. Inside, she was really excited to see Blake be protective like that over their own kid. It reminded her of how Summer had been with her and Ruby as children. That thought suddenly made her a bit sad, thinking of Summer now.
The feeling of soft fingers sliding along her cheek and gently holding her face pulled her from her distraction and her lilac eyes looked down to meet ambers gazing at her full of love and calm and only then did Yang realize she was a bit tense. Blake didn't need to say anything for Yang to know she was giving her love and reassurance.
She clasped her hand over Blake's and kissed her head again, enjoying the subtle floral smell of her hair mixed with a saltiness from the ocean air. It didn't take the faunus long to fall asleep even though Yang stayed up for a while after just watching the love of her life sleep peacefully, Blake's slight weight comforting on top of herself. She was glad that Blake seemed ok tonight, having been dealing with morning sickness off and on a lot lately.
When the sun came in and showed Yang's face, the blonde groaned, rolling to the wall. A gentle shift on the bed from pressure on it happened behind her and in front of her all at once, a gentle nibble coming to her neck and ear before light touches tucked loose, wild blonde hair behind Yang's ear, a soft voice humming gentle words against the skin, "Yang… wake up. We will be docking soon."
A big smile stretched across the blonde's face with eyes still closed as she swiftly reached up, pulling Blake down into her arms so suddenly the woman didn't have time to react and let out a yelp of surprise. Yang nuzzled into her cheek, strong hands holding Blake tucked tightly to herself. She lavished the faunus with sweet kisses across her jaw and cheek, "Mmmm join me for five more minutes Kitten?"
Blake rolled her eyes but she smiled and laced her arms around Yang's shoulders, fingers lazily stroking the bare skin around the base of the back of her neck exposed by the tank top the heated brawler slept in, her lips laid a peak on Yang's nose, " As long as it's only five minutes."
Finally, Yang peaked her eyes open slightly and nodded, responding before placing a loving kiss on Blake's soft lips, "Promise."
Blake moved a hand to run through Yang's hair along the scalp softly, adoring the hums of approval Yang released. When time was up, Yang went to get up but Blake groaned this time, holding her there, "No…"
A playful chuckle came out of the blonde as Yang kissed her wife's forehead, "Come on Kitten. We have to get our things together."
The faunus whined but got up, "How can you always make things so irresistibly comfortable?"
Yang wiggled her eyebrows with a giant goofy grin at Blake, "Guess I'm just an expert at making sure you get all the yang for your buck."
Blake frowned, eyes narrowing as she quickly got up and moved away from Yang, "And… moment ruined."
Yang tried to protest but when Blake wouldn't bite she snickered and let it go. Shortly after they got their few things together, the boat docked and they made their way off of it. With intent, they wasted little time heading to the chief's home. It made Blake's heart swell a bit seeing Yang more nervous than herself. She loved that her wife cared so much about what her parents thought. Fingers laced with Yang's and the woman was pulled from her trace to glance at their owner, Blake's gentle expression calming Yang's nerves almost instantly.
As long as this wonderful woman was by her side, Yang knew she could tackle anything. When they got to the door, Blake put a hand on the knocker and looked at Yang, who took a deep breath, "I'm ready."
The faunus pulled the knocker, beating it lightly a few times to make their presence known. When the door opened, her mother, Kali, was standing there. The warmest smile graced her lips as she stepped out happily, arms looping around her daughter, "Oh! Blake! Yang! What a wonderful surprise!"
Blake hugged her mother back with a smile before Kali hugged Yang, feeling Yang's slight tremble and pulling away holding her hands, worried eyes looking at those lilac orbs, "Yang dear you are shaking. Is everything alright?"
Blake chuckled as Yang pulled a hand to rub the back of her neck, "We'll tell you when we get inside Mom. Is Dad around?"
Kali led them inside, curiosity clear on her face, leading them to the study, "He's in here. Come."
Yang only seemed to tremble a bit more, Blake grabbing her hand again and giving a light squeeze as Kali opened the doors, "Ghira you will never guess who was at the door."
As they entered and she closed the doors behind them, the large panther looked up from his desk at the visitors and grinned massively, "Blake! And Yang too I see. What a treat! Why didn't you let us know you were coming? I could have had tea ready!"
He was walking closer as he spoke. Yang seemed to try to step away from Blake so her father had space to greet his daughter without Yang interfering but Blake held her hand more tightly and refused to relent. The man towered over them and looped them both into the same tight hug that lifted them off the ground.
Yang grunted a bit quietly but Blake quickly reacted in time to shift herself so his firm grip avoided her vulnerable center. After a moment, he set them back down, and ushered everyone to take a seat at his couch and chairs. Kali had slipped away and was already returning with fresh tea. As she served them cups, Ghira looked over at the couple settled next to each other on the couch, "So, what brings you two here? It's a fairly long trip and with no warning to just be a simple visit."
Yang bit her lower lip and her eyes glanced to Blake who rubbed her thumb over the hand intertwined with hers, the other hand coming to hold Yang's as well as she rested them on her own leg, "Sorry to say you are right Dad but, we wanted to come tell you this in person."
In response to her parents' confused looks, Blake gave a warm smile, squeezing Yang's hand to remind the brawler to breathe, "You see, Yang and I are going to have a baby."
By the wide eyed expressions cast their way, Blake could tell this was probably the last thing they expected to hear. To their credit, it was probably not a science the island even remotely had or even knew of yet. Even donors with IVF was barely a concept here yet after all. While Blake was confident in the presented information, Yang could feel her heart racing like crazy. Ghira and Kali shared a glance at first before Kali's face lit up with the biggest smile and she lept up, pulling Blake into an embrace, "That's wonderful news! Although, I really don't understand how that works, I'm very excited for you two!"
Ghira was still staring and his head tilted. Yang laughed nervously as he locked eyes with her and frowned, "What sort of strange thing did you do anyway?"
Yang was about to panic but Kali swooped in and saved the day, standing behind the couple and placing a kind hand on Yang and Blake's shoulders, "Now Ghira, relax. Isn't it about time you start showing this young woman how much you actually like her?"
He huffed and Blake chuckled. He softened, realizing Yang was full of worry, "Sorry I didn't mean to frighten you I just… this is safe and you are both prepared yes?"
Blake nudged Yang, giving her wife the chance to impress her father by being a bit assertive in this moment. Yang let out a breath and smiled, looking at Ghira and summoning some of her blind confidence, "It's absolutely safe. It's being overseen by a very skilled medical professional who also is not only well versed with humans and faunus but is a faunus alley as well! And with all due respect sir, this is something we both really want, so I can promise you we have been doing all we can to be prepared for this through every step. I would never risk Blake's safety or put her in any bad position."
Blake gently leaned into Yang, the blonde able to feel the very subtle adoring purr she was emitting. Ghira observed and nodded, relaxing with a smile, "Good. Then I'm excited for you both. Blake, I hope you won't stay away so much once our grandchild comes to the world."
She rolled her eyes but smiled, "Yes but it is a big trip Dad. We'll do what we can but Yang still has to work you know? Can't raise a baby with no income."
He grunted and folded his arms but nodded, Kali leaning on the back of the couch to look at the two, "Then at least call more often dear. We have been looking forward to this happening one day."
They got through tea and Blake tried to give them more information about the process before Yang and Blake went to her old room to settle in with their things. They got their scrolls charging, Yang turning to Blake and pulling the woman to her with a grin, "I can't wait to tell Ruby how well this went!"
Blake nodded, nuzzling into Yang before pulling away and grabbing her hand, "Come on. Let's go out for a bit. I want to introduce you to that kid I saved and we can visit Ilia too."
They left the scrolls charging and went out, grabbing some food in the village on their way to Ilia's home on a beach. The chameleon faunus welcomed them and they all went out on the beach with the young tiger, Yang sitting with Ilia as Blake played with the child on the edge of the water. Or at least she did until she was hit with a swing of nausea. She excused herself quickly and the tiger came over to Yang and Ilia, "Will one of you come help me? I was going to build a sandcastle with Mrs Blake but she wasn't feeling good…"
Yang chuckled and nodded, "Let me go make sure she's ok first then I'll help."
Ilia just patted Yang's arm, "Nah I got this. Go take care of Blake."
Yang went inside and slipped into the bathroom with the faunus with a glass of water and sat with her, rubbing her back and making sure she was alright. They got through the bout of sickness then joined the other two for a bit longer until it got close to dinner time. The couple made their way back to Blake's parents' home.
As they walked into their room, Yang smugly grinning at Blake as she reached and pulled the woman's back against her front, arms holding her and sliding her hands over her abdomen as she kissed between her ears, "It was absolutely adorable the way you played with that kid you know."
Blake blushed slightly as her own hands slid over Yang's, ears flicking from the attention between them, enjoying the affections, turning in Yang's arms and giving Yang a look that made the woman shiver as she backed her up until she fell onto the bed, climbing into Yang's lap and nuzzling into her wife's warm embrace, "You can't talk like that to me right now and think nothing will happen Yang."
Blake had been more cuddly than usual since getting pregnant, a faunus instinct to be close to Yang and causing a desire for her loving protection and affections constantly tugging at her brain. The faunus nuzzled into Yang's neck as she clung close to her, purring lightly when a warm arm looped around her and held her tightly. The blonde chuckled at Blake's affections, "Maybe that was my goal Kitten."
She reached for her scroll to turn it on while Blake nibbled at her collarbone and neck lovingly. The blonde twitched a bit beneath her wife's affections but controlled herself. In these two months she had gotten herself used to Blake's pregnancy affections being non sexual despite their arousing effect on the blonde. It had definitely not been easy but after Blake got upset with her a few times about the misunderstanding Yang did not want to make that mistake again.
As Blake settled down into her embrace finally, Yang's scroll fully loaded and she looked at it over Blake's head, the missed calls from Ruby rapidly popping up from the day they got on the boat. Concern riddled her face and she grew tense, drawing Blake's attention, "Yang? Everything alright?"
"I'm not sure. Ruby called me like… 10 times in a row the morning we left but there's nothing else from her since. She sent a message before the final call…"
Yang opened it and read over Ruby's frantic sounding message about Weiss and the blood. Blake watched her eyes grow wide and moved as Yang shot to her feet, "Blake! Weiss is in the hospital! She was bleeding a lot! W…we need to get back!"
The faunus got to her feet and moved to the door quickly, "I'll see what my parents can't do to get us there as soon as possible. Get our things together ok? Call Ruby back."
When the faunus left, Yang tried to call Ruby but it went straight to her voicemail every time. At this point, Yang was becoming riddled with worry and guilt for not being reachable at the time when her sister clearly needed her. Blake's parents were able to get the ship leaving that evening to wait for the couple. When Blake came back she looked at her worried wife, "Did you talk to her?"
Yang's eyes were watery and she shook her head, "no answer. Blake… I'm really worried. I… How could I not be there for her?"
Her wife touched her cheek as she grabbed their things, "This isn't your fault Yang. We are going to get there as soon as we can, I promise. Let's go."
They quickly made their way to the boat after swift goodbyes and headed back home.