Disclaimer: I don't own VLD!

A/N: This is just a fun ficlet. ^_^

Rules of the Baby Bump

Strangers = No Touching

The first time a stranger touched her stomach during her pregnancy, it was only Allura's strong sense of diplomacy and respectfulness of cultural differences that kept her from breaking the woman's hand.

She had been minding her own business, waiting with Lance and Hunk in line at a food truck on Earth. Hunk had found 'the provider of epic waffle goodness' during the Castle's last visit to Earth, and when she had complained about craving something sweet, he had suggested they go. They had found Lance coming back into the Castle as they headed out and invited him to come, too.

Standing with her hands buried in the pouch of the hoodie she had permanently stolen from Shiro, Allura had been discussing menu options with Hunk when she felt someone touch her stomach. For a second, she thought it was Lance, but he almost always asked first unless he was joking around.

No, it was some human woman, a glowing smile on her face as she held her palm to Allura's baby bump. "How far along are you, dear? Five months?"

Allura blinked, momentarily shocked into inaction. Why…why did this woman think she could just touch her stomach like that? Anger flashed through her, followed by indignation. She stepped back, out of the woman's reach and wrapped her arms around herself. It was that, or she would've grabbed the woman's wrist a little too hard. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm just wondering when the baby is due," the woman asked, her eyes excited. She proceeded to gush, not giving Allura a chance to say anything. "I just love babies. Is this your first? I've had three. It looks like you're going to have a boy, looking at how you're carrying."

Allura stared, unnerved. But why did any of that give the woman permission to touch her? Was this some kind of strange Earth ritual? Shiro hadn't said anything about it. Judging by the way Hunk was frowning and Lance was glaring at the woman, she doubted it was perfectly acceptable behavior.

"If you don't mind," she started, using a cool, reserved tone she used for negotiation situation, "I'd rather not discuss my pregnancy with a complete stranger. Thank you."

The woman looked taken aback, but she nodded and turned back around. Allura's mood plummeted from waffle-happy to frustrated and upset. She tapped her foot impatiently while they all waited for the line to move and for the woman to just be gone.

Once they had gotten their food and sat down on a bench, Allura tore her waffle apart with a vengeance, soaking it in maple syrup. "Was that normal?"

"Most people don't do that," Hunk said, "She shouldn't have done that."

"People get weird when it comes to babies and pregnant women," Lance said, "They used to touch my mom's stomach all the time when she was pregnant with my little siblings. It's sort of like they think pregnant women are just automatically okay with it."

"I am not," Allura said. She popped a piece of waffle into her mouth and glared at nothing in particular. While she was completely fine with anyone in her family touching her stomach, she couldn't imagine strangers being that audacious.

Humans were so odd sometimes.

A few days later, she found a new shirt in her closet. It was a blue and yellow maternity shirt, and across the middle it had written in bold white letters, 'PRECIOUS FRAGILE CARGO: Do Not Touch.' Pinned to the shoulder was a little note that read 'For Allura for Earth visits. No touchy!'

Very nice.

Family = Can Touch

Allura was curled up on one of the couches in the Castle's main rec room, reading on a tablet balanced on her rounded stomach. She was six months along in her pregnancy, and she was wondering how much bigger she was going to get. Right now, she looked as if she had swallowed a small inflated plastic beach ball from Earth.

No one was entirely sure of when the baby would be born due to the differences between Altean and human gestation periods, but she was hoping for sooner rather than later. Being pregnant was somewhat nice but she wasn't going to miss being exhausted or sick or walking around on sore feet, no matter how much Shiro doted on her.

The baby kicked, right where the tablet was touching her belly, and the tablet actually moved.

Allura pulled the tablet away and ran her hand over her taut stomach, tapping against the spot where Emi had kicked. It wasn't like the baby hadn't kicked before. She was always rather active at this time of day.

The baby kicked again, and this time Allura could actually see the foot pressing up against her side, a small moving bump appearing on her skin. Her eyes widened.

Well, this was certainly a new, strange development.

Resituating her pillow and scooching down on the couch, she pulled her shirt up so she could see better. As she watched, she felt Emi move and at the same time, another bump appeared against her skin, rolling to the side. Wow. It was fascinating sensation and so extremely strange at the same time.

"Allura? Everything okay?" Pidge asked. She was standing at one of the entrances to the rec room, an eyebrow raised. "What're you doing?"

"Come here," Allura said, waving her over, "You have to see this."

Pidge walked over, a curious glint in her brown eyes. "What is it…holy quiznak!" She must've seen it when the baby moved again, an elbow or knee running under Allura's skin. She jumped back and then darted forward, sitting on the couch beside Allura. "That looks so freaky."

"It is a little odd."

"It looks like you're possessed and the ghost is trying to get out."

"That's very reassuring," Allura said with a laugh. "Do you want to feel?"

Pidge hesitated and then nodded. "For science."

Allura took her hand and waited until the baby moved again, shifting to the right. She put Pidge's hand against her stomach and grinned at the younger woman. "There! Did you feel it?"

"Yeah, ahh, that is so wild!" Pidge said, "Doesn't it hurt?"

"Does what hurt?" Keith asked. He had a bowl of ice cream in one hand and a transparasheet in the other. He stopped at the landing that led down to the couches, his head slowly tilting to one side.

"Come look at this, it's crazy," Pidge said excitedly, "You can see the baby moving, which is the weirdest thing ever. It's like a parasite."

Allura rolled her eyes, even though it was a somewhat true statement.

Keith's eyebrows shot up his forehead and then knitted together in concern. "Is that normal? Are you okay, Allura?" He hurried over. "Should I get Shiro?"

"No," she said, shaking her head, "I think it's perfectly fine. The baby's just very active right now."

As if agreeing with her mother, the baby kicked out again, her heel visibly pressing against Allura's stomach. Keith paled and backpedaled. "That's not okay! I'm getting Shiro and Coran, we can take you to the infirmary or a space station hospital or somewhere. Pidge, go find a medical book or something and make sure she's comfortable. It's going to be okay, Allura. Get her a blanket, Pidge!"

Before she could stop him, he had handed his ice cream off to Pidge and raced out of the room, yelling for Shiro. Allura glance at the green paladin, who shrugged and started eating Keith's ice cream.

"Seeing how he has zilch experience with pregnant people, I guess that was a pretty chill reaction. Especially considering that it looks like you have a chestburster in your stomach."

Allura's ears twitched. "What's a chestburster?"

"Uh…" Pidge slapped a huge innocent smile onto her face and shook her head. "Nevermind, want to play Super Mega Mario Surprise Party with me?"

Luckily Allura didn't watch the Alien movies until a year after her and Shiro's daughter was born.

Shiro = Obviously

Allura was half-asleep, resting after a bad morning of vertigo and aching feet (but why did they have to hurt so much), when she felt Shiro slip into their bed. He wrapped himself around her, holding her against his chest, twining his legs around hers.

Gently moving her hair to the side, he blew a cold, refreshing breath across the back of her neck and then pressed a kiss to the tender spot behind her ear.

"Feeling better?"

The moment Shiro spoke, the baby kicked, as if recognizing his voice. Allura smiled. Maybe she did.

"Mostly," she said, pulling his arm tighter around her. She traced a few dark spots along his forearm, connecting them with imaginary lines. "According to Coran's research, the vertigo should go away in another week or so. Possibly."

Everything was always possibly or maybe or most likely when it came to this pregnancy. They could make educated assumptions, but they were going on medical articles from a 10,000-year-old society and advice from a world that had only just been introduced to alien life a few years ago. It was all guess work.

"I wish I could make it go away for you," Shiro said.

"Oh, could you? That would be quite kind of you, love, very appreciated," teased Allura.

He laughed and buried his face in the crook of her neck, hiding from her. "Allura…"

She pulled away and gingerly sat up, trying to banish the lingering traces of vertigo. "What time is it, anyways?" she asked, combing her fingers through her hair. It fluffed out even more, which seemed to be another weird pregnancy thing. It felt like she was walking around in a cloud sometimes, so most of the time she kept it up in a ponytail or a bun.

"Around twelve," Shiro answered. He rolled over onto his stomach and sprawled out, one hand resting on Allura's knee. "You know, we can always cancel that thing this evening."

"If I didn't know you better, I would think you were trying to get out of an important diplomatic meeting, Takashi," Allura said.

"And what if I was?"

"I would be very disappointed in you."

Shiro smirked and pushed up on his elbows. "Oh, not that. Anything but that."

"Yes, that," she replied, giving a regal nod, chin slightly lifted in the air as she tried not to smile.

Suddenly he was behind her, squishing her against him. "I hope she gets that from you," he said, his hands resting on her stomach.

"What are you talking about?" Allura asked. She leaned against him, relaxing.

For a moment, he was quiet, then his forehead bumped gently against the back of her head. "Everything. I hope she gets everything from you."

Allura reached up, pressing her palm to Shiro's cheek. He leaned into her touch, and she turned slightly to look at him. "Everything?"

"Hmm, okay, maybe not your self-sacrificial trait."

"She's getting a double-dose of that, love."

"Ah. That could be a problem." Shiro ran his hand over her stomach. "We'll just wrap her in bubble wrap or something, keep her nice and safe."

Allura started giggling, imagining their baby all bundled up in bubble wrap clothes for her whole life, just because her parents were protective. At least she would never doubt that they loved her, right?