Another one-shot I've been saving up. Some monochrome moments in this one :3c

Brave Hearts AU: theneonflower,tumblr,com/tagged/brave%hearts%au

"Sleep, my little baby,"

A flick of a cat ear.

"Seek out those sweet dreams tonight,"

She raised her head, the soft hums faint.

It was late, very late. Blake glanced at the clock on the wall; two in the morning. Another night of terrible insomnia, the cat faunus escaped to the living room to avoid awakening her mates. She had stayed there, reading her favourite book in the dim light of the lamp for hours until a soft voice rang out.

How she didn't hear the creak of the floor or the soft click of a door shutting, she didn't know. Blake figured she was too involved in her reading to notice. Regardless, the harmonic voice and humming was quiet but loud enough for her to hear.

Silently, she placed her book down on the cushion next to her and used her reflexes to stay quiet. The house was old, the floor was considerably creaky. But a cat faunus like her had the stealth to navigate the home without being detected. Not that her human mates could even pick up on sounds they couldn't hear.

The humming continued with its soft tune as Blake tiptoed towards the back of the house. She paused at the first door in the hallway, noticing it was cracked slightly. She could hear snores of two of her mates, but neither of them had seemed to be awakened by the song. Her third mate, however, was missing, and Blake's assumptions were deemed correct.

Weiss.

She moved on, creeping towards the next door where the humming grew louder. The voice sung with such fluidity, despite its rough edges. Blake's heart sunk at the thought; Weiss refused to sing to anybody for years, her voice scarred from a hard past. The very thought of the woman having to use the cloak of night to hide and pour her heart out into something so soothing… it was sad.

Blake stopped before the door in which the humming had come from, losing herself into Weiss's voice.

A voice the cat faunus missed.

Quietly, she grabbed the doorknob, turning it slowly to avoid interrupting the song. Fortunately for her, this door did not creak or crack, and Blake was able to open it enough to peek in.

Weiss was silhouetted by the moonlight outside as she sat next to the window. She was calm, sitting in a rocking chair as she hummed. Both of her hands rubbed at her bulging stomach, heavy with pregnancy.

She was singing to the baby that hadn't even been born yet. And Blake found that to be absolutely wonderful.

It was like Weiss to sneak into the nursery at a time like this. Her attachment to their children was very strong; her need to raise a child with love and care was always noticeable. Her own upbringing had settled those thoughts long ago when Whisper, the eldest child, was born. Now, they were on their ninth child, with Weiss being the last of the four mothers to have a child in the family. They said no more, nine was enough. Four other toddlers occupied the nursery; Blake and Yang's second set of twins and Ruby and Weiss's twins. But the soothing lullaby from the mother was keeping all four asleep at this time of the night.

Blake finally gave in and opened the door more to enter. Weiss was startled for a moment before settling.

"Couldn't sleep?" Blake whispered, walking quietly over to the woman.

"A bit, the baby wouldn't stop moving so I just gave up," Weiss murmured, looking down to her swollen belly.

"An active little girl aren't we?" Blake knelt down next to Weiss, pressing a hand gently to the women's swollen stomach.

"Indeed," Weiss let out a sigh. She was one that didn't handle pregnancy well, but thankfully she was nowhere near as bad as Ruby. The poor woman would fall ill the whole time, and she suffered every minute of the day. This pregnancy wasn't too bad, but Weiss couldn't wait for it to be over. The due date was coming fast, only a few weeks left.

Still, she appreciated Blake's presence. Quiet moments like this were rare in a house with four toddlers, and the two of them were taking advantage of this peace. Blake slowly lowered her head, chin resting on the arm of the chair. Insomnia wouldn't let her sleep, but she closed her eyes anyways. Weiss settled back, closing hers as well.

"You should sing more," Blake broke the peaceful moment, glancing up at the white haired woman. Weiss looked at her, eyes widening.

"Y-You heard me?!" She whispered to avoid waking the babies. Blake's ears twitched with confusion as she lifted her head. Weiss looked away, avoiding the cat faunus.

"Weiss, are you self-conscious of your singing?" Blake asked, her ears perked forward. Blake couldn't help but glance at the fading massive scar on Weiss' neck, it was the reason why she stopped using her voice for harmonic purposes.

"Y-You know I have my reasons to be," Weiss stuttered, still refusing to look at her. Blake's brows furrowed.

"I still think your singing is beautiful. When I heard you tonight, I felt warmth spread through my chest and I wanted to purr. You have such a lovely voice," Blake slowly and gently pressed her hand against Weiss' cheek, guiding her back to face her. Blake leaned forward, their noses brushing. It was a way to show affection and love from a faunus.

"I always sing to the babies, I know it soothes them," Weiss murmured and Blake blinked.

"You were trying to calm the little one weren't you?" Blake tilted her head and Weiss only nodded. Weiss rubbed her swollen belly, and Blake placed her hand on top of her hand. The wedding bands, with the three gemstones encrusted into the metal held a soft glow in the moonlight. Weiss let out a sigh, leaning forward and using Blake's shoulder to rest against. The cat faunus always held a earthy scent, she was always out patrolling the forest.

The moment between them didn't last though; one of the babies starting whining before wailing out. This woke up the other three, and any peace the mothers had was short lived. Blake rose to her feet swiftly and was next to the crib seconds later.

Weiss watched as the cat faunus picked up little Carmine; her own son, but all four of the women in the house were mothers regardless of blood. Blake cooed to the child, walking around as he cried on her shoulder. Blake was out of the nursery moments later, probably trying to give Weiss peace. The other three toddlers had settled down by then thankfully, and Weiss glanced out the window.

The skies were starting to show signs of early morning, the darkness turning to light in shades of orange and blue.

She closed her eyes again, hearing the faint cries of Carmine alongside voices of Blake and a sleepy Ruby and Yang. One hand rubbed her stomach as she felt the baby move.

"Good morning little one,"

（*'∀'人）