Living on Love

On the morning of May twelfth, Ash was trying to sleep in since it was Sunday, but his unborn daughter had different ideas. She’d woken up before the ass-crack of dawn and was currently squirming within him in a way that made sleep impossible. He sighed as he rested his hand on his belly, watching the early-morning sunlight glint off his fairly new wedding set as he contemplated getting up since he was still tired, or attempting to go back to sleep, despite his daughter’s squirming.

Just as the baby settled down and he began to drift off to sleep again, he heard someone quietly open his bedroom door. With a mental groan, he rolled his closed eyes and pretended to be asleep, knowing that Andy, who’d since returned from their tour, had let Legacy into the room to wake him up, though why was beyond him. Didn’t he know it was Sunday, the day he should be allowed to sleep in more than any other?

“Ma-ma!” his daughter said softly, tugging on the covers from where she stood in the floor beside the bed.

“Mmm,” he moaned, rolling onto his back. Not a very smart move since the weight of his unborn baby made it a little hard to breathe, but he was supposedly asleep, after all.

“Maybe Mommy’s favorite breakfast will wake him up.” The voice now talking belonged to his lover, and he could tell a grin was splitting his face.

“Or maybe Mommy just wants to sleep,” Ash groaned, pulling his lover’s pillow over his head.

“Well, it is Mother’s Day; you’re more than welcome to sleep, if you like,” he chuckled, picking the toddler up. “C’mon, Legacy. If Mommy wants to let his breakfast get cold in favor of sleep, let’s just leave him to it.”

“Wait a minute.” He sat up and sleepily rubbed his eyes. “It’s Mother’s Day already?”

“Yeah, that it is,” Andy answered, still chuckling. “Legacy wanted to make you breakfast in bed.”

“More like you wanted to,” the bassist laughed, finally grinning as well.

“Nah, it was all Legacy’s idea,” the frontman insisted, setting her down on the bed. “Why don’t you give Mommy his card and presents while I get his breakfast?”

Clapping and cheering softly, the little girl handed him a purple envelope that Andy’d clearly been the one to fill out. On the front it said “Mommy” in his bold, but legible handwriting with a few scribbles, which he knew were his daughter’s handiwork, surrounding it. Ash chuckled softly as he ripped it open and read the card, the message within saying something along the lines of how she was the luckiest little girl in the world for having such a wonderful mommy, that she loved him, and hoped he had a great Mother’s Day. There were several more scribbles, which sufficed for her signature, and he hugged her tightly.

In the second envelope she’d just handed him was a car from his lover, his name clearly written on the pale pink envelope in the same bold, but legible script. Once again, he tore it open and quickly read the card, tears welling up in his eyes as he read the hand-written message from his lover. He’d written that he’d never met a more perfect human being and that he was lucky to’ve found someone so loving, caring, and wonderful to have children with. He couldn’t have possibly picked better than his subconscious had, and he planned to do all that he could to make him feel like a princess on this special day reserved just for mothers. The bassist was openly crying by the time he finished, which worried his little girl.

“Ma-ma?” Legacy asked, sounding confused and worried.

“It’s okay, Princess,” he assured her, sniffling and wiping away his tears before grabbing her in another hug. “These aren’t sad tears. These are happy tears.”

“Happy tears?” she repeated, looking up at him with the same beautiful, icy orbs his lover had.

“Mmm hmm.” He nodded his head before kissing the top of hers. “The note Daddy wrote for Mommy in my card was sweet. It made Mommy very happy.”

Curiously, she grabbed the card and held it up, pointing to what Andy’d written in a gesture meaning that she wanted him to read it to her.

“Ashley, my dearest Outlaw and Deviant…words can’t express what a wonderful man you are, nor how loving and caring you are, to not only me, but our daughter as well. Even if I’d been paying attention to the mess my subconscious was wading through, I couldn’t have picked a better, more perfect person to spend the rest of my life, much less have children with. No one could possibly be a better mother to our daughters than you, and for that, I plan to make sure you’re treated like a princess this Mother’s Day. I love you more than I can ever scream. Your Batman and Prophet, Andy,” he read, the tears welling up again.

Legacy giggled with happiness, although she didn’t quite understand the meaning behind her daddy’s words, when she saw how happy they made her mommy. The little girl reached up and, just as gently as Andy would’ve, wiped his tears away before wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. Ash couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he returned her hug, glad that they’d woken him up now.

Moments later, his lover returned to the bedroom with a tray in his hands, completely loaded with his favorite breakfast. It even included the one thing that he craved more often than not when pregnant—chocolate-covered sausage. Yeah, it was a bit strange, especially to those who knew he usually didn’t eat any kind of meat that wasn’t poultry or fish, but he couldn’t help what his body craved when it had another growing within it. He grinned even wider as his daughter moved aside and allowed the frontman to place the tray over his lap, then pause to kiss him before allowing him to dig in.

Andy asked him if he wanted to keep the toddler with him while he ate, considering that she might cause him to spill something if she moved the wrong with. Shaking his head, the bassist told him it might be a good idea to get her off the bed, just in case, so they wouldn’t have a huge mess to clean up and extra laundry to do later. Nodding his agreement, the younger man picked their daughter up, even though she protested a bit, and kissed her forehead before leaving the room and him to eat his breakfast in peace.

To be honest, Ash couldn’t remember a time that he’d ever been served breakfast in bed, especially after their daughter’s birth, unless it was at the beginning of his pregnancy. And even then, breakfast has usually consisted more so of ginger snaps than anything, considering that it was really the only thing he could keep down at the time. Sighing his happiness softly, he picked up his fork and dug in, knowing he likely wouldn’t be able to eat it all since he didn’t have nearly as much room as he used to. He didn’t care, though; even if it was a bit too much for him to handle right now, it was the thought his husband and daughter had put into the meal that made it special for him.

“Done with breakfast, sweetheart?” Andy asked, returning a short time later.

“Yeah, I’ve managed all that I can,” he answered, nodding.

“Sheesh. You sure packed away quite a bit for someone who’s almost due,” his lover chuckled, kissing his temple.

“Mmm hmm. I kinda surprised myself,” the bassist agreed. “Better for the baby, though.”

“Seriously. Means she’ll really be healthy when she gets here,” he agreed, chuckling.

“Well, I kinda feel like going to the beach today,” Ash told him, tossing the covers off his legs.

“You sure you wanna do that?” the younger man asked curiously. “I’m not gonna stop you, if you are, but…”

“It’s not like I’m trying to hide my pregnancy anymore,” he told him. “We’ve already come out about our relationship and admitted that I’m a guy that can get pregnant.”

“True enough. I just wanted to make sure you really wanted to,” Andy said.

“I do, and besides, it’s Mother’s Day; I get to do whatever I want, so long as it doesn’t hurt me or the baby,” the older man chuckled.

“Again, true enough. And I don’t see where soaking up the sun in the sand or swimming in the ocean could hurt either of you,” he agreed. “Go on and get yourself ready while I get the dishwasher loaded, then get myself and Legacy ready.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Ash agreed, giving him a quick kiss.

* * *

By the end of the day, Andy and Legacy were turning a bit pink since they both had such pale skin, although Ash was just a bit tanner than he’d been that morning. They could feel where the salt water of the Pacific had dried on their skin, meaning that baths and showers upon getting home were a must, and all had sand stuck to them, as well. All in all, it’d been an awesome Mother’s Day for the bassist.

Sighing softly as he settled into their bed for the night after showering, he couldn’t help but reflect on watching his husband taking their daughter deeper into the ocean than she could stand. She’d seemed a bit scared at first, clutching her daddy as if scared she was going to get caught in a riptide, but eventually loosened up and had fun. He himself had even gone swimming for a bit, although he didn’t dare grab a surfboard and go surfing like he would’ve a couple years ago. Before he’d gotten pregnant either time, he loved surfing with a passion, but right now, he felt like he might lose his balance a little too easily and deemed it too dangerous for both him and the baby.

It wasn’t long before Andy came into their room and crawled into bed behind him, their older daughter settled in her crib and sleeping soundly. They’d really worn her out with their day at the beach and figured she’d end up sleeping in the next morning, as they probably would, as well. Ash snuggled against his lover, the younger man wrapping his arm around his waist as he spooned him and kissed his temple. He sighed softly once again, smiling serenely as he felt him caress his belly.

Moments later, their room was engulfed in darkness as the frontman turned off the lamp on the nightstand, but he could still feel the warmth and light of their love. It was a beautiful feeling that, although fraught with blood, sweat, and tears of all kinds at some point, made him hope and pray that it’d never end. Nothing in this world was as important to or made him as happy as being in Andy’s arms while having Legacy in his. Those thoughts kept his smile plastered to his kisser as he drifted off to sleep in his husband’s arms.

Notes