Chapter 2
After Caitlyn’s little nap on Vi’s chest, she woke up around an hour later, sitting up and blinking hard at the sunlight. It had dried her, leaving her skin warm and crusted with salt. Vi was in slightly a different position under her, now propped up a bit and sipping a beer. Once she noticed Caitlyn waking up, she grinned and stroked her hair.
“Morning, babe” Caitlyn rolls her eyes, and then rubs them, sitting up fully.
Wordlessly, Vi begins pouring her a flute of something bubbly looking. Her first thought was champagne, and her second that she was pregnant and she couldn’t have champagne. Luckily, it was only sparkling cider, and she took a small drink with a smile of appreciation.
“Thank you, Violet” She mumbled sleepily, settling back against her chest, grunting a bit as she shifted.
For a few minutes, she started to wake up, sipping her drink and enjoying the sun. Vi looked completely happy and relaxed, an arm slung lazily around her waist, stroking her baby bump and sipping her own drink. After a while though, her skin started to gain color, a pinkish coat making its way.
Vi noticed before she did, and huffed. “No UV, my ass..” Being as overprotective as she was, she began spreading her with sunscreen wherever there was any pink or an opening in her bathing suit. Caitlyn soaked up the soft touches like she soaked up the sun; with her head tipped back and her eyes shut.
Vi massaged her all the time, for which she was very grateful. She was sore almost constantly, for one reason or another. She got full body aches, her back screaming in protest to movement and legs groaning as they bent. Her baby bump was a very developed size for only being at the end of her first trimester. It put a lot of strain on her lower back and was constantly a bother.
Caitlyn remembered one night a few weeks ago, she’d been doing paper work in her home office. She wanted to get the last of it finished before she retired to bed for the night. That resulted in her sitting for over three hours, hyperfocused on the task at hand, unable to break herself from it until every document had been analyzed and proofread, annotated and filed.
Her back was achy as she sat, but she had to suck in a sharp breath when she stood, gripping her desk and accidentally creasing some papers. A sharp pain emanated from the lower curve of her shoulder blade down to the small of her back, causing pain whenever she moved. She didn’t know where Vi was, and refused to ask for help anyway.
She stuck it out and slowly but surely made her way upstairs and into the bedroom, using the wall to aid her movements. Vi lied on the bed, looking to be studying for her Enforcer training class at the college. When she saw Caitlyn though, her eyes widened, and she sprung up.
“Cait? What’s wrong? Are you okay, is it the baby?” She quickly shook her head, bracing her finger over Vi’s lips, her nail lining up perfectly with the scar on her lip.
“Love, I’m alright. Just having some back pain” She would never forget the look Vi got in her eye. Like she was angry, but so, so concerned.
“You should’ve called me, I could’ve helped! I don’t want you hurting yourself, what if you hurt the baby? It’s not just you, Caitlyn, you can’t take risks like this!” She flinched slightly, but frowned, crossing her arms.
“I was very careful, I probably just pulled a muscle-” She tried to reason, though there was an edge to her voice. Her wife cut her off.
“I don’t give a damn if you were careful, that’s not enough! If something happened to you, or to our baby, just..fuck! You don’t understand” Caitlyn was getting a little pissed now.
“Violet, look at me. I understand you’re upset, I do. But you need to remember that I know my own limits, and I would never do something to hurt our child, not ever. But talking to me like this doesn’t solve anything and it’s disrespectful. This isn’t how you’re supposed to speak to me”
With the reminder, the fight seemed to drain out of her, and her firsts unclenched by her sides. She let out a breath. She still seemed a little upset, and a hell of a lot concerned, but the navy-haired girl did her best to stay confident and authoritative.
“I- I’m sorry. I just got worried, you know I’m always here if you need me..” She mumbled, and Caitlyn softened. She reached out a hand, rubbing Vi’s cheek.
“I know, my darling. I know. Take a few deep breaths”
Instead of complying with the suggestion, she slipped into her arms, burying her face in Caitlyn’s neck, breathing her in and holding tight. She rubbed her back, trying to calm the Zaunite. It was nice to see her listening and allowing herself to take comfort.
She smiled at the memory, even if it wasn’t the fondest one. They, of course, had their rough patches and fights, that was inevitable with any couple, though especially them. They were two strong willed, independent, and stubborn women, whose opinions ran deep. Vi had a lot harder time managing her emotions, while Caitlyn struggled with staying respectful. It was hard not to be rude while stating the same logical facts and truths over and over. But they made it work, even if they screamed and cried, they’d kiss and make up.
Caitlyn didn’t realize how important physical touch was for that part. Especially for her and Vi. Vi could be dense, and passive, but she was also sensitive. She found that the real ending of an argument is when things get back to normal. Even just a hug after a shouting match, a kiss, laying in bed together, it seemed to fix everything. It was good for Caitlyn to be able to have tangible evidence as well. Sometimes, seeing the physical progress made all the social cues easier to understand. Vi had also been without that kind of soft affection for so long, and she knew deep down that the fighting reminded her of her old life. But any small touch, and she was brought back to the present. She could remember that she was allowed to have feelings, and be upset, and accept comfort.
When she was fully covered with sunscreen, she continued to lazily drink her cider and watch the green-blue waves crash into the shore, white-capped and salty. The seals had mostly slipped back into a playful mood, diving and splashing, though some still lounged in the sun. The rocks they slept on looked jagged and sharp, wholly uncomfortable. But they had thicker skin than humans, more padding. They’d adapted. She would too.
Adjusting her eyepatch, she turned to Vi, smiling and kissing her just because. Just because they were in a beautiful place, comfortable and warm and a little burned. Just because they had a baby and she was happy and that her wife would be a mama, and she’d be a mum. Just because the day was perfect. Eventually though, the kiss did end.
“We should probably get back to the room,” Vi suggested, “It’s getting late. I still wanna find a place to eat”
So, with heavy limbs, Caitlyn stood and stretched out her back. It ached and popped a bit, but provided some relief. Vi, being as stubborn and overprotective as she was, wouldn’t let Caitlyn carry any of the stuff from the beach bag. She didn’t bother arguing about it, it was a sweet gesture, and the upcoming walk was only a few minutes back to the hotel.
Vi’s idea proved to be a good one, seeing as the second she stood, she felt hunger gnawing at her and grains of sand embedded in her skin, head to toe, overstimulation ensuing. The sand was the bane of the beach, as the sun was the bane to her skin. She never stopped loving either, though.
When they arrived in the hotel Vi let the beach bag drop. She was surprisingly clean, the only sand being on her feet. She’d walked barefoot back though, so none remained. She flopped onto the bed, sighing a bit, and Caitlyn grinned.
“Tired, darling?” Vi shook her head.
“Hungry” She could agree with that statement. Caitlyn kneeled next to the bed to avoid dirtying the sheets, and traced a pattern over Vi’s toned stomach.
“Have I told you how much I love you recently, Violet?” With a grin, she shook her head. “Well, I love you very much. Now, would you like a shower?”
Vi shook her head, “Nah, unless this is your way of telling me I stink” She grinned crookedly. Caitlyn ignored the quip with a playful roll of her eyes.
“Well, if you won’t, I will. You get dressed, I’ll be out soon” With another, this time chaste, kiss, she wandered into the bathroom.
Sand trickled down her legs and abdomen as she peeled off her one-piece, grimacing at the tan lines and burn on her back, stomach, and legs. It was a rather deep pink, but she was no lobster. It would be sensitive in the morning, though. But what can she do?
Caitlyn opted for a cooler shower, washing all the grime, sweat, sand, and salt from her body until she felt clean, the drowsiness warded off. Painstakingly, it was replaced with a hurting sort of hunger. After all, there was rarely ever a time she wasn’t eating.
The pregnancy had proven a huge wakeup call. She tended to overlook eating for what she deemed more important tasks, like cleaning or working or training. Vi had to practically shove meals down her throat, otherwise she’d usually be too wrapped up to eat.
Now that there was a living, breathing organism inside her, her appetite demanded more and more from her, an extreme, unignorable urge. It was rather difficult to keep up with. Vi, as if it was her wife’s plan all along, had snacks readily available everywhere. She’d check in every hour or so to ask her if she wanted anything, and when she was too busy to, she’d leave little bowls of carrots and hummus in her office, protein snack-packages in the gym fridge, and an oven-pizza was always frozen and waiting.
She stepped out of the shower, longing for any one of those snacks, and began to dress. She’d shopped for the occasion, something she rarely did due to the fact that she liked all the clothes she had and didn’t intend to throw any out, and that she hated going out to shop. It was overstimulating, and one of the few tasks that pulled indecision from her.
But she’d beared through it, and found a few pieces she adored. She’d found a cranberry red dress, one that was down a little past her knees. The color reminded her of her wife’s hair in low light, like those fall mornings with the blinds and curtains still drawn, tangled in bed, soft gray lighting seeping through.
The fabric was soft and thin, flowy and slightly see-through, giving way to her undergarment set, both a dusty lavender hue. It almost mimicked a coverup, one you’d wear on the beach, over your suit after a swim. It was beautiful, and it showed off her belly without unflatteringly accentuating the weight gain.
Vi always reminded her how gorgeous she was a little more filled in, and it fueled her confidence. She left her hair sweeping on her shoulders, deep blue and wavy. It had become slightly unruly when it got longer, and her natural slight waves were apparent. She clipped in ruby-colored studs to her first and second piercings. Vi had her top two done, and she’d gotten her bottom two to match her. Her outfit was paired with leather-bottom sandals that only tied with a floral-patterned sea green tie, wrapping up her calves a bit.
While Caitlyn showered and dressed, Vi did as well, out in the room while her wife occupied the bathroom. She peeled off her swimsuit and rummaged through her suitcase, finding exactly the articles she was looking for. She grabbed a sage-green wife beater crop-top that stopped right at the beginning of her abs. Paired with tight, low-hanging shorts of the same color, she was sufficiently outside her comfort zone, but not necessarily in a bad way. The top showed off her chest and stomach, the shorts her ass and v-line. For her double cartilage, she swapped out the mechanicals, instead slipping in two navy and gold hoops. The color was for Caitlyn of course, because how could it not be?
Vi had never been the most feminine, so much was apparent. But she didn’t always want to be the more covered up one, or have to be strong all the time. She liked that Caitlyn took care of her just as much as she did her, and how, now that she was in a secure place in her life, she could experiment with different styles and clothes, finding what she liked best. What suited her. Whether it be more feminine or masculine or both. This seemed like a nice mix.
She draped an unbuttoned short sleeve over the outfit, and, with an unsteady hand, tried out light makeup in the little mirror Caitlyn kept in her purse. She swapped her nose ring out for a gold one, and dusted orange in the corner of her eyes, eyeliner dark on her waterline. Her hair, usually sticking wildly out, was now swept to the side and pulling down her back, longer red strands cascading down her shoulder blades.
They both took relatively a short amount of time to get ready, and once Caitlyn exited the bathroom, Vi’s eyes widened. She was gorgeous, in a dark red cover up and barely visible undergarments. It showed her baby bump perfectly, and she grinned, running up and hugging her tight. Caitlyn laughed, and rubbed the back of her neck.
“You look so pretty, my handsome girl” She purred, and Vi’s face flushed, before Caitlyn picked up her chin to stop her from nuzzling, “Don’t go ruining your makeup” Vi pouted, but kissed her cheek.
“You’re..so fucking gorgeous. You ready to go?” She smiled at the praise and then nodded.
“I’m starving. Let’s go, darling”
And they went. What a remarkable life it was.