Chapter Text
Malavai awoke early in the morning, arms holding the most precious being in the universe. She was still fast asleep on her side, her bare skin against his own nakedness, her arms wrapped around one of his, not wanting to let it go even in her subconscious state. He took his hand that was resting on her waist and carefully brought it to his wife’s abdomen, lightly touching her skin and holding his hand over this location. This brought a smile to his face. Somewhere under his hand a tiny part of him was growing, he was holding his entire family in his arms. Family... that was a word he was going to have to get use to... the idea of being a father both excited and terrified him.
During their long-anticipated reunion neither of them had the presence of mind to perform the proper precautions they used to take. Both of their minds were too distracted by other much more pleasant activities. They could scarcely keep their hands off each other for that first week anytime they found themselves alone, even to the point of breaking their agreed upon public display of affection policy on a few occasions. This lapse in judgement had been the cause for the predicament they now both found themselves in.
She was around four weeks along by his best estimates, nowhere close to showing anything yet. He didn't think it was possible, but her skin and aura glowed even more than it used to, becoming more beautiful in his eyes every passing day. In the privacy of their chambers was the only place he would allow himself to do this, to bask in the joy of their closely guarded little secret.
Reminiscing about this last month, he had closely watched her every move, never wanting to take her out of his sight. He had spent over six years trying to find her and now that they had finally been reunited he wanted to make sure she never vanished on him like that again. Watching her he had noticed that she was a bit more fatigued then she usually was and started to have nausea issues for the week prior. Wanting to look into it, he ran a diagnostic scan of her and was surprised by the unusual readings, not her normal baseline, something had changed and he was determined to find out what.
Looking into the unusually elevated hormone levels in his diagnostic he asked a normal round of basic medical questions, it was when the routine question about her next monthly cycle came up that the fog began to clear. That is when the realization came crashing down on both of them. They had been so busy between Iokath, trying to secretly look into finding the traitor in the alliance and trying to catch up on over six years of lost time together, that birth control had completely slipped their minds and that she was now late...
Running this next test, both sitting with their hands held together, anxiously awaiting the results uncertain of what to do next. When his scanner came back positive a million emotions and questions flew across his mind. He had been ready to be a father for years, he was just waiting on when Disantia had wished it to be. It just never seemed like it was the right time to try before she had vanished, one catastrophic galactic event after another, no reprieves given between saving the galaxy to try.
Looking into her eyes, he wanted to see what her opinion of the matter was. Sure, he was ecstatic about the prospect of being a father, but ultimately, she would do most of the hard work for most of this first year. This choice was entirely up to her. When she first read the test results on the scanner for herself, her face lit up into the biggest grin he had seen on her in a long while and she lovingly placed her hand on her stomach. Genuinely feeling excited about the prospect. This reaction was all he needed to know, despite the chaos was going on around them and the additional dangers it could bring, this child would happen... the decision was made.
He placed his hand over hers and brought her into a kiss, holding her tightly, hoping to show his feelings through this embrace. He pondered the future, he might finally now be able to get his Mother’s constant nagging for grandchildren off of their backs. But after talking it over they had both agreed that for her safety and the safety of the unborn child, its existence should remain a secret as long as possible. Finding all data of these test results and erased their existence, being sure to thoroughly cover his tracks, hoping that his actions were quick enough.
With a traitor being on the loose in her alliance and only two people in it that she had trusted without question. Everyone else was suspect, even Lana and Theron... though neither of them were aware of her suspicions. Vette and himself were the only two people she could trust absolutely, but neither of them could quite trust Vette to keep this quiet. Though she meant well and would gladly do anything to protect Disantia since she thought of her as family, she just would struggle to keep a secret like this. For the time being they felt it best to keep her in the dark as well, Disantia was not happy to do this to the woman she considered her sister.
He was brought back to the present when she began to stir, yawning widely and doing a quick stretch in her half-asleep state rolled over to sleepily look through her eye lashes at him asking "How early is it?" in yawn speak.
He was guessing it was still too early to get up just yet, looking across the room at the time he saw it was still a few hours before dawn. He found her half-asleep question adorable, answering "A bit too early to get up just yet." smiling back at her. Hoping it was not nausea that awoke her again this morning he asked "How are you feeling my love?"
Becoming a bit more aware of herself and her surroundings she tried to get an idea of how she felt. She felt a bit crampy, her breasts were swelling up to sizes she would have wished for while she was growing up. Now that they were growing larger she wished they would shrink back down to their normal, less painful size. Thankfully for that moment she was not nauseous, just a tad sleepy still. She answered "My boobs hurt... I feel like they are trying to escape my skin of their own accord... and my back is sore...". Figuring she could get him to rub her back so she could try to go back to sleep she looked in his sapphire eyes and asked "Could I get you to rub my back again?" rolling back to her other side right after she asked.
"As you command, my love." he replied as he heeded her small request, lightly messaging her back with his hands, he kissed the top of her hair to help show his affection. He gave a small laugh as he thought of the breasts comment, she was right, they were growing a bit larger. Much to his dismay they also were too sensitive to touch at the moment, he would refrain from doing that until she requested it. Something to else to look forward to later, he thought quietly to himself.
She sighed with relief as his hands helped ease the pain she was feeling, letting his hands work their magic while she contemplated going back to sleep. After a few minutes of rubbing his warm hands seemed to have done the trick she rolled back over and looked him in his eyes was about to kiss him, when that is when the scene suddenly changed. Seeing brief flashes of images come toward her showing her a few images of what might be. Her visions were almost impossible for her to interpret.
He watched her roll over and then witnessed her jaw go a bit slack, her eyes became unfocused and she did not respond when he called out to her. It had been a long time since he had seen her have one of these. Knowing she was not seeing the same thing he was seeing all he could do was wait it out and see if she could make anything of it, her visions always made him nervous, often times they were warnings. A moment later her eyes went back into focus and she returned back to the present.
She placed her hand on her temples and rubbed, visions made her head hurt. She saw a mysterious black cloaked figure in the background, her fleet in ruins and the figure laughing in the background, she could not tell if this was a man or a woman. Then it shifted to a different scene, something not so menacing and actually one that made her smile. It was a vision of her holding a newborn and Malavai standing next to her happy as could be. This part she wished she could show Malavai, he would love it. A tear of joy ran down her cheek, that image was just so beautiful to her.
He wiped the tear off of her cheek and quickly asked "What is wrong?" his curiosity getting the best of him.
She looked up at him "Wish these would not be so random... first one did not look good... warning of the traitor I guess. Nothing new that is helpful... and the other part was a much happier scene." she wiped the next tear out of her eye before she continued "Was an image of us holding a newborn... it was so beautiful..."
Malavai smiled at that happy thought and embraced her again. This was also going to take some getting used to, all of these hormones running rampant in her system was going to be challenge trying to keep under wraps.
Figuring going back to sleep was a lost cause at this point, he got up, and went to go start some fresh caf. After it had finished brewing he poured two cups, taking one for himself and making the other one be about 3/4ths of the way full handing it to her. He had given her a bunch of recommendations on her diet now she was pregnant and was going to do his best to help her stick to them. If he had his way she would not have any, but a small cup daily was within the advised stimulant limits, he knew how much she loved caf, it would be cruel to completely deny her this small comfort.
Disantia looked at her cup and pouted heavily, these new caffeine restrictions were going to be the death of her. Surely an extra cup every now and then would not be the end of the world. She had not slept as much as she probably should have and thought she would need all the help she could muster to stay up through the day. She was just so tired all the time as of late. Looking up at him as she drank her caf, making her pouty face a bit more pronounced, saying "Surely, you could let me have another half cup more today..." hoping her sad expression might get him to change his mind.
Speculating on what she was attempting to do, he lightly shook his head and replied "You really should stick to these limits, the longer we can get you to go with the smaller amount the easier it will be stay adjusted to the diminished amount. You don't want to go back into withdraw again do you? Besides increasing your caffeine intake will not help your breast tenderness issue... if anything it could exacerbate the problem." he looked in her eyes and saw tears start to form again. Oh no... not that... tears were always a weak point for him when it came to Disantia.
Listening to his logic she knew he was right, but that didn't mean she couldn't be frustrated about it. Since it was just the two of them in the room she figured she could release her emotions without fear of discovery. She was irked about the whole situation and how dare he deny a Sith of her much cherished caf.
Gripping out with the force, she grabbed a few random nearby objects and threw them across the room smashing into the wall on the opposing side. Watching him dodge as one went flying within millimeters of his head. Resisting the urge to send a few at him directly. She didn't realize that she started to cry again until the tears started down her cheek. Sniffing a few times, she let herself go into full waterworks mode, hoping this would help her ease her frustrations. Sobbing as she tried to speak "I don't care..." she sniffed "If my breasts... hurt more..." she sniffed again "This is your... fault..." trying and failing to say something else coherent with her body being wracked with sobs.
Carefully watching this, making sure she didn't try to throw something else at him in her tantrum. He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her, placing her head on his chest, petting her hair as she continued to sob. She had done so well these last couple of weeks when she was in in the presence of others, mostly keeping up her usual demeanor, he could only imagine the herculean efforts behind this feat. With all of these physical changes happening and the hormones surging through her system she had more than earned a few outbursts like this.
Letting her cry into his chest, feeling her tears attach themselves to his bare skin. He felt her hands gently caressing his chest hair to comfort herself, while she released her pent-up emotions. Looking up to his face a few moments later with the traces of tears left in her eyes. Reaching up with his hand to her eyes he wiped away the remaining tears and held her chin looking up at him. Staring into her eyes like that, even with her eyes puffy from her cry, she was still breathtaking. Feeling privileged to be one of the few people in the galaxy to see this side of her, not just the carefully controlled mask she donned for everyone else.
Feeling a bit better looking into her husband’s gentle eyes as he held her chin in place, she took advantage of that closeness and brought her face to meet his for a kiss. He was startled by the sudden change of emotion once again, but adapted quickly closing his eyes. Returning the gesture as his other hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her even closer. Finishing the kiss, he smiled and chuckled a little "Either you are doing this to tease me or trying this avenue to get me to change my mind love... I am afraid I will stand firm on this. Though should you wish to take this thought further... I would be happy to oblige" giving a small chuckle as he leaned in to kiss her again.
She brought her hands up to the back of his neck and pulled him closer as he let his hands grip her tighter to himself, the warmth of his chest helping to ease the ache in her bosoms. Feeling his hand slide slowly up her spine as he lifted her up a bit to help make up for the differences in heights, wanting to have them be even closer. As she broke their kiss she looked into his eyes and then glanced away in shame. Asking “I know I have not gained much weight yet, but even in this bloated state, do you still find me desirable?” She dropped one of her hands down to his chest to feel his heart beat.
He took his hand from her back and grabbed her chin, lifting her head up so he could gaze into her eyes, wanting to erase the shame that she held in them, releasing her chin he slid his fingers across her cheekbones and then playfully touched the tip of her nose. Admitting "You are and shall always be the most subline creature in the universe... actually you might find this strange... but the thought of you carrying our child, it just makes you all the more desirable to me..." breathing in her essence as he claimed her mouth again, trailing his hand back to her neck and down her side. He felt bold and lightly traced his fingertips over her bosom as he felt her gasp into his mouth. Freezing his hand in place he was about to move it away, when she reached up and held his hand there with her own.
Breaking apart their kiss, she breathed into his ear a longing sigh and replied “Your hands, your warmth is making them feel less painful… by all means continue that thought…” Caf sitting on the table forgotten as their passions flared once again.
That was all of the encouragement he needed, he had been longing to touch her for the last few days, but her tenderness and nausea had other ideas. Taking his fingertips, he traced the outline of her breasts with a featherlight touch, and ran them over her nipple watching it respond from his attentions. Gently caressing the perk nipple with his fingertips, he listened to her inhale and she let out a contented sigh. Feeling bolder he brought his hand to gently grasp the whole breast letting the warmth of his hand soak into her skin, hoping to relax some of her persistent ache with his hands. She curved her back to lean into his hand demanding more contact.
Following her unspoken instructions, he left a trail of kisses down her neck and onto that bosom, taking that plump nipple between his lips caressing it with his tongue. She slowly started backing up towards the bed stopping once the back of her knees hit the sheets. Malavai helplessly followed her not wanting to let her out of his grasps, pushing into her as she stopped her backwards motions. She bent her right knee and raised it so her foot was now resting on the top of the sheets and she pushed his head slowly downwards rushing through their usual foreplay.
It was at that moment the door behind her opened and Vette walked into their chambers. Chatting away as she walked further into the room before she looked up from the floor and saw Disantia’s bare back on the bed in front of her. She dropped her datapad and stood there with her mouth gaping open, Disantia and Malavai stayed in their respective positions frozen like a manka cat in a headlight. Disantia turned her head around and started laughing. She was glad that for the moment she and the bed obscured Malavai from Vette’s view. Vette joined her with an awkward laugh of her own as she slowly backed towards the door and said with exaggeration “Rrrrriiiiigggghhhhht… I’ll…I’ll meet with you in a bit…” Nearly tripping out the door as she hastily backed out and entered the code to shut the doors.
Malavai wrapped his arms around her waist as he rested his head against her abdomen as he laughed a bit himself, cheeks bright red from his own blush. She took her hands and ran them through his hair trying to stop her giggling fit, while he asked “There is never enough time is there?”
She signed and then froze her hands in his hair for a moment as she had an idea… sly grin on her face she looked down at him and suggested “Well… we still need to take a shower…”
Seeing where that idea was leading, he got to his feet and exclaimed “I agree completely, an Empress must always be ready to meet her subjects” as he scooped her up with his arms, his lips never leaving hers as he carried her into the refresher. They both emerged sometime later sated and freshened up.
Disantia looked up at Malavai as they changed into their clothing and said “I suppose I had better see what Vette wants…” Grabbing the now cold cup of caf and downing it in one gulp. Resisting the urge to steal his while his hands were distracted while he dressed. Walking to the door, she stood before it and took a few deep breaths. Trying to reassure herself of what she needed to do and what was at stake.
Malavai looked up and saw her just standing her, shoulders slumped downward and a bit of worried expression. He was to her side at an instant and tucked her head against his chest with his arms. He looked down in her eyes and asked “What’s with that face?”.
She sighed and answered “What if I blow up again… what if others find out… I worry that the traitor can use this against me.” Wrapping her hands around his waist as she let his hands gently caress her hair.
He took her chin and tilted it up with his hands and replied “You are the strongest and bravest person I have ever known, and I will be there with you. I have faith in your abilities, love. Let us see what they wanted of their Empress.” With that he dropped his embrace and took her hand giving it a small squeeze for her comfort, together walking out their chamber doors seeing what the galaxy had in store for this this morning.