Chapter 10: Everyone Loves A Baby
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There was a burst of chaos as the others arrived, all wanting to see the baby. It was clear Vivian was tired, but she was still as happy to see the others as Svetlana was. Everyone was so excited about getting a glimpse of the new member of the family (variously saying the child looked like Svetlana or Vivian, even though Svetlana was pretty sure a newborn was too different from an adult to really say) that Svetlana fully forgot to ask Agusta about their whole situation. 

Which was probably for the best. The moment was about Vivian and the baby. With maybe a little attention for Svetlana. 

Everyone other than Bokarza took turns holding the infant, with Bokarza worried the baby was too tiny and fragile. Even if the kid was a pretty good size for a newborn in Svetlana’s opinion. Then again she vaguely remembered just how long Kobaroic pregnancies were and could only guess their kids came out bigger.

“昊宇” Vivian said as she watched a purring Plynx hold the baby.

“Uh, pardon?” Svetlana asked.

“It’s a gender neutral name that means ‘vast universe’,” Vivian said. “It had been one of my top choices for a girl, and I just remembered it was gender neutral.”

“I didn’t realise you were planning to go with a Chinese name,” Svetlana said. “Not--not planning to argue against it, I just didn’t realise.”

Vivian shrugged. “It’s not like the kid will have to worry about classmates or teachers complaining about it being hard to pronounce.

“So... Houyu?” Svetlana asked, doing her best to copy what Vivian had said.

Cantonese was always tricky in her opinion. 

“Close enough. We’ll work on your tones,” Vivian replied.

Plynx nodded, looking down at the baby. “It is good to meet you, Houyu Fujikawa-Wong, child of my wives.”

 


 

To the surprise of all the Earthlings, Vivian found herself able to get up and go about the rest of the day more or less as usual. She was tired, but a coffee or two kept her going for the day as everyone caught up. Little Houyu needed feeding at points, but other than that Svetlana and O’rygnoh took over most of the nanny duties. In Svetlana's eyes it was only fair that Vivian got to rest. She’d basically been looking after the baby solo for the last 9 months, after all.

Of course, Vivian could only get so much rest, because the Galaxy’s press wanted pictures of the new baby immediately, with both of their mothers. The rest of the family were also present, the press asking for a picture of each of the queens consort holding the child. On mild prompting from Svetlana and Vivian they also took pictures of O’tmyil and Thisbe with Houyu.

After the photo session and some vague questions that mostly involved explaining how long it took a human baby to hit various stages of maturity, the family were then, finally, allowed to head back to the imperial apartment. Only to discover that most of the major news channels were gushing about how adorable the new royal baby was. Plynx, Bokarza, and Auguste all insisted keeping on top of coverage was important.

Vivian turned in early, but Svetlana did her best to learn from the coverage. Clearly the galactic population was even more excited about a royal baby than press back on Earth. Maybe in part because little Houyu was a sign the stability finding Svetlana had brought was going to last.

 


 

That night Svetlana had found herself getting up several times to check on the baby, only to discover that O’rygnoh, O’tmyil, and the rest of their siblings were taking care of things.

Still, it was hard to sleep when one could hear a crying baby. So Svetlana ended up sleeping in and was still groggy as she walked over to the dining room table. Sitting down she found an omelet, some peameal bacon, and hash browns placed in front of her by a robotic arm. That was a good start to the day.

Only once she’d put a bit in her mouth did she realise who was sitting in front of her. 

“Auguste,” she said, having picked up the new name yesterday, but not had a good opportunity to discuss gender.

Right now, however, they were looking distinctly more masculine, hair slicked back with an unbuttoned army-chic jacket over a white undershirt that was clung to a rather toned chest. 

“I saw your sign yesterday,” Auguste said with a grin. “It made me laugh.”

Svetlana offered her own grin in reply. “So... was I right?”

Ouai,” Auguste replied. “It’s quite fascinating how much of a... release this is.”

“Mhm,” Svetlana said with a small nod, taking in his figure as she chewed on a bit more breakfast. “You look good too.”

“Thank you... somehow I feel better. Not only on days where I’m masculine, but also days where I’m feminine and feel more able to embrace it,” he said, leaning back a little in his chair. “To say nothing of having decided I no longer care about meeting my father’s standards, as I know he would never approve.”

“He was kind of a jerk,” Svetlana muttered, before popping some more omelet into her mouth. 

The two of them were quiet after that, as Svetlana finished her meal. In part because both of them knew exactly what was on the other’s mind. Curiosity filled both of them, having had their anatomies reversed from how they’d first met. At least part time for Auguste. It left Svetlana wondering if she’d be half as good in this role in the bedroom as Auguste had been. Back when she’d almost left Svetlana thinking being a man wasn’t so bad... And, well, it would be Svetlana’s first time sleeping with someone who was at least a part time man since her zap. That also excited her.

 


 

Walking past Auguste’s room, Vivian shook her head slightly at the noises she heard through the door. Svetlana was not known for her patience.

Then again, Vivian had also seen the hopeful looks Thisbe, Plynx, O’tmyil, and Bokarza had all been giving her. While she was physically fit enough to spend the night (or morning) with any of them her hormones weren’t quite in the right place at the moment. All very... sideways.

Even if having a baby was a lot less painful in space, the human body still did some strange things as a result. 

 


 

The galaxy was now awash with baby fever, and that meant it was time for an imperial family tour. Every day for the next month was booked up for them, though a good chunk of it was to be spent travelling. Though the boredom of days spent on star runners was tiring in its own way.

It all became a bit of a blur, Svetlana doing her best to remember the briefings O’tmyil and various aids gave her but it being too much for her brain to hold onto after visiting the next planet. She did, however, find herself coming up with a plan as she saw just how thrilled everyone was to see Houyu with both parents. Something that might be a gamble, but she wanted to give it a shot.

Before she could do anything about that, though, the grandparents at long last had a chance to arrive at the same planet as them. 

 


 

Waiting in the luxury hotel suite as Bokarza, Plynx, and Thisbe were out visiting the people of Parlox IV (most of whom were a species that looked rather like giant millipedes) Vivian checked the mirror again to make sure she didn’t look too tired. Whoever had decided that they needed to do a galactic tour with a newborn needed their head examined. Even with the rest of the polycule and O’tmyil’s family to help Vivian wasn’t sure she’d managed more than five hours sleep since Houyu had been born.

Knocking on the door distracted her from how tired she was. A moment later O’tmyil had opened the door, letting in Vivian’s, Svetlana’s, and (for some reason) Auguste’s family. She generally ignored the last group, distracted by how happy she was to see her parents and siblings, as well as getting to show Houyu off to them. Also, well, Auguste’s family were kind of hidden behind the Wongs anyway, since Vivian was not an outlier for height. Her mother was the shortest person in the family and was still 5’11.

“Vivian!” her mother said. “I still can’t believe you’re the first one to make me a grandmother!”

That drew an eye roll from Vivian’s older brother. “I told you, Jessica and I are waiting for me to get my promotion... not all of us get to marry royalty.”

“Excuses. She may have bagged royalty, but she’s also a lesbian, so you had an advantage,” her mother said, before hurrying over to get a better look at Houyu. “Such a darling... but, I really have to ask why you won’t tell your mother if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“I told you, mum, we’re raising them galactic style. They don’t gender kids. The kids figure it out around when puberty starts,” Vivian replied. “Other than Thisbe the rest of the family are either aliens or trans, so they support the idea.”

“I think it’s cool,” her little sister said. “Total freedom to decide. Very space age.”

“People are saying ‘space age’ again?” Vivian asked.

“Yeah. I mean, we’re properly in a space age now.”

“Yes, yes,” her mother said, getting the focus back on her. “But you can still tell me, can’t you?” 

“Actually... I honestly can’t,” Vivian replied. “Svetlana insisted she’ll handle all the diapers and baths to make up for putting me through the pregnancy, and, well she actually barely gets to do them with the androids being so efficient at nannying. And I don’t really want to know, because I’m not sure it wouldn’t influence me.”

“Well, we’re happy to have the grandchild anyway,” Vivian’s father said.

“As are we,” Karyna Fujikawa (Svetlana’s mother) added, slipping in around Vivian’s elbow. “Daw. What a cutie, too!”

“Mhm. A very cute child,” Dan Fujikawa added, looking like he was slightly overwhelmed by the whole ‘travelling to an alien world’ thing.

Which was not surprising in the least, considering how poorly he handled surprises and the unknown. Putting him on a planet with two moons that orbited a red dwarf and was inhabited by mostly invertebrates... that was a lot for anyone. As such, the poor man nearly jumped out of his skin when Vivian’s father clapped him on the back.

“We grandfathers should go celebrate properly, now that we’ve seen the baby. What do you say, Dan?”

“Um... I suppose, Andrew,” Dan replied. “Though I don’t know how one celebrates on this planet.”

“We’ll find out! I’m sure somewhere serves drinks. Come on!” Vivian’s father said, dragging the far shorter man off in search of an alien bar. 

It was very definitely her mother’s side where Svetlana got most of her height. Especially when one remembered her cousin Eliza, who was only slightly shorter than Vivian.

“I still can’t believe my little Sveta’s a mother now,” Karyna said, hugging her daughter.

Meanwhile Svetlana was looking rather concerned about how her father was going to fair off on an alien world. Though, who knew, sometimes Dan Fujikawa’s response was to simply take everything in stride and he might well come back singing drinking songs with a hyper intelligent jellyfish.  Pretending things were normal sometimes worked for him.

“So, is it true you’re going to be knocking Svetlana up next?” Vivian’s sister asked with a grin.

“I--well, that depends on what you mean by ‘next’,” Vivian replied. “There’s a fair number of members in our polycule. I think she and I won’t be having a kid with one another for a while.”

“Mhm. I’m expecting there to be a bunch of grumbling from government officials about who I have my next kid with,” Svetlana said with a sigh. 

“Oof. The downside to royalty,” Vivian’s sister said. “At least you get a palace as part of the deal.”

“The palace is pretty nice,” Svetlana replied with a nod and a shrug.

“Mhm,” a blond man who must have been Auguste’s father began, drawing the attention of the Fujikawas and the Wongs (and Fujikawa-Wongs) to him. “We brought a gift to celebrate the new child.”

“Oh, that’s very appreciated,” Svetlana said, offering her most diplomatic reply while her eyes glanced at a currently feminine and rather tired looking Auguste.

Vivian and Svetlana were both aware via O’tmyil and O’rygnoh of the sharp German whispers that had been exchanged between Auguste and her father while they’d been dealing with their own families. Neither had had a chance to be told the specifics, but it was clear both O’tmyil and Orygnoh were annoyed with the man.

“It was nothing. Just some toys made by one of our favourite craftsmen in Geneva,” Auguste’s father explained. “Sofiya, would you like to hand them over?”

“Of course,” a dark haired woman in her mid thirties said, stepping forward with a small gift bag in her hands. “I hope little Houyu will like them.”

“Thank you, I’m sure they will,” Vivian replied, handing the baby off to her mother so that she could take the present. 

“They seem a very adorable child. I miss when our Valentin was so small,” she said.

“... Our?” Svetlana asked, looking for anyone else in the room.

“Yes, our son,” Auguste’s father said.

“Sofiya is father’s second wife,” Auguste explained. “She’s a Bulgarian princess.”

“Nothing on a Russian princess like Auguste’s mother was, but it’s something,” Sofiya replied with what Vivian thought was actual genuine modesty. 

“You’re Bulgarian?” Karyna said, flashing a smile. “I’ve always loved Bulgaria. My family took a few vacations there when I was young.”

With that she started leading the other woman off, showing surprising ease at dealing with someone who was royalty. For a moment Vivian wondered if it was due to having a daughter who outranked any Earth monarch or a side effect of having grown up in the Soviet Union.

Auguste’s father followed them with confusion written across his face, clearly not certain what to do with himself while his wife was the center of attention.

“Well, we’re going to go try the massage parlours they have here,” Vivian’s mother said, handing Houyu back. “All those arms... these Gulorps must be amazing at massages.”

“We’ll see you later,” her sister added as they headed off. 

Once they were out of earshot Vivian’s brother then turned to her with a smirk. “You know, I don’t think you’re going to be the only one moving off-world. Trish has already had three different Kobaroian guys try to ask her to marry them. I think the first one to realise dating comes first will actually have a good shot.”

“She could do a lot worse. Kobaroian guys know how to respect women,” Vivian said with a laugh.

“Mhm, that’s fair,” her brother said. “Well, I should probably go try to find dad and make sure he hasn’t given Svetlana’s dad a heart attack.”

With that, Vivian found herself alone with Svetlana and Auguste (and the baby).

“So, what was your dad complaining about?” Svetlana asked.

“That I wasn’t the first one to give you a child. Thankfully I successfully assured him that the Second Dynasty used an exam system for inheritance rather than seniority,” Auguste replied.

Before Svetlana could reply, Auguste’s father appeared by her side, a spark of inspiration in his eyes as he asked to discuss something with her in private. Fear flashed in Svetlana’s eyes for a brief moment, but then she followed him to the other side of the room, Which was fair, Vivian was fairly certain she didn’t want to hear about whatever self-serving schemes the man had.

Instead she had decided to tease Auguste a little, to try to distract her from the pressure her father was no doubt throwing on her shoulders.

“I will say, your step-mother is cute.”

“I--pardon?” Auguste blurted, blushing something fierce.

“The long dark hair. The Slavic and southern European heritage. She maybe fits a type I’ve found I like,” Vivian said with a grin.

Somehow Auguste’s blush grew worse. “I am... aware. I have been quite aware from the moment I first saw Svetlana in female clothing... it seems that tastes in women are strongly inherited in my father’s family.”

Oh? There’s another one? Don’t tell me you have an uncle who married a tall yet short haired Chinese princess?” Vivian asked, genuinely curious.

“N-no. It is... it is more embarrassing than that and so I will not subject myself to that indignity,” Auguste replied, crossing her arms.

“Oh, well now I have to know,” Vivian said.

“My lips are sealed,” Auguste insisted.

 


 

Having family around meant even more chaos, but it had been nice. There were too many dignitaries and strangers to talk to, it left Svetlana exhausted. Familiar faces were a breath of fresh air. Sadly they parted ways after only a few days, the Imperial tour having more stops.

Which meant lots of travel in star runners, nothing better to do but to listen to briefings from O’tmyil and other minders.

Those briefings involved rather a lot of maps, as Svetlana was shown how different parts of the Galactic Commonwealth were related. A lot of the history ended up overflowing from her brain and would have leaked out her ears if knowledge were a physical thing, but the map she was able to learn. It was the same in every lesson. 

“We’re getting close to Zuumult space,” she said after one of her briefings, studying the galactic map in front of her.

“Reasonably, yes. No more closer than two hundred lightyears from the border,” an Issiod’rian advisor replied.

“That seems like a good opportunity to meet up with Empere Ouzzhen. They had said they wanted to see me more,” Svetlana said, leaning in to look at Zuumult territory.

It was fairly small, compared to the Galaxy as a whole. It also seemed to blend into the Corporate Alliance, the main power outside the Commonwealth. Also an alliance that didn’t so much snake as banana its way around the edge of the galaxy to reach close to Earth. 

“Are you certain? This is a Zuumult we’re talking about,” the advisor said. “Not just any Zuumult, but a royal Zuumult. They have the blood of the First Dynasty flowing through them.”

“Trying to be an ambassador for peace and goodwill seems like the most useful thing I can do with my life,” Svetlana replied. “I’d like to at least give it a shot.”

“... very well. There are some sparsely inhabited worlds in that part of the Commonwealth. I am certain we will be able to find one ready to accommodate such a diplomatic meeting,” the advisor said.

To be honest, Svetlana was also at least a little excited to just be around Ouzzhen. They exuded a power with their well toned frame built to a scale larger than any human. Their presence was a bit like that of a tiger’s, only if the tiger could speak and be trusted not to eat you.

Well, probably trusted.

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