Gift of Love

On the morning of his birthday, Ash was surprised to find that he’d been able to sleep in till around ten that morning. Normally, he’d have been up with the sun, whether it was from a kick to the bladder or because one of the kids woke up über early. However, upon waking and rolling over, he realized that the reason the kids hadn’t bothered him was because they were likely downstairs with his lover.

Before he could even get the covers kicked off himself, much less get to the bathroom to empty his bladder, which the baby was attacking again, the bedroom door opened. With a toddler on each shin as they clung to him and their older daughter leading the way, Andy entered the room with a tray covered in his favorite breakfast, complete with his latest craving: chocolate-covered bacon. Yeah, he was pretty strange and got even stranger when he was pregnant, but at least his husband was willing to oblige his cravings, regardless of how strange they got.

Gasping, he covered his mouth with both hands as he came over to the bed and set the tray down beside him, knowing he probably hadn’t taken his morning piss yet. He gently pried his hands away from his mouth and leaned down to give him a gentle good-morning kiss, then grinned as he straightened. Tears welled up in Ash’s eyes as his emotions got the better of him, considering that, regardless of whether it was a special occasion or not, it was rare that he was served breakfast in bed.

“Run along to the bathroom, little Outlaw,” Andy chuckled softly. “I’ll readjust the pillows while you’re preoccupied.”

Nodding since he didn’t trust himself to speak, he crawled out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

“Where’s Mommy going?” he heard Rori ask, and it brought forth a soft chuckle.

“Mommy hasn’t been to the bathroom yet this morning,” his lover answered. “If he doesn’t go now, he won’t be able to eat his breakfast.”

“That’ll make me sad,” she whimpered. “We worked so hard on it.”

“Then let’s give Mommy a minute to use the bathroom, then he’ll be able to eat,” he chuckled.

Ash chuckled softly once again as he washed his hands, remembering the day that his lover had proposed to him. His ending words had been, “So will you, Ashley Purdy, my Outlaw and deviant, do me the greatest honor by becoming my husband?” Andy rarely called him “Outlaw”, usually preferring to call him his deviant, so it made him feel extra special when he got called “Outlaw”. That thought brought a grin to his face as he slipped his wedding set back on, having taken it off while washing his hands, and headed back to his bed so he could relax while he ate. That in and of itself was a treat, given that it rarely happened since Rori was born, and damn sure after the twins’ births, but he really felt special now.

“What’s with going all-out today?” he asked curiously, allowing his husband to tuck him back in.

“Have you got amnesia or something?” Andy countered jokingly, settling the tray over his lap. “Take a look at the card, and maybe it’ll jog your memory.”

Chuckling, he opened the cards laying next to his plate, grinning wider when he read the one from his babies. Rori’d just barely been able to sign her name in a legible print, the twins merely making scribbles in their favorite colors, but it was still good enough for him. The second card was from his husband, his Batman and prophet, but brought tears of happiness to his eyes as he read it.

Beneath the generic message printed by the manufacturer, which bespoke love and happiness on such a joyful day, was a personal message written in Andy’s bold script. As he read the words of love and how he hoped he had a great day full of rest and relaxation that he more than deserved, the tears welling up in his eyes spilled over and streamed down his cheeks. Ash pulled his husband close to him, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck before pulling back just enough to kiss him. The younger man chuckled into the kiss, making sure not to squeeze his waist too tightly because of his pregnancy.

“Like I said in the card, I hope your birthday turns out exactly how you want it to,” he whispered in his ear. “You enjoy your breakfast. I’m gonna take the kids over to Jake’s so we can have the house to ourselves.”

“Sounds good, mio profeta,” he agreed, grinning. “I could use a day away from them.”

“I figured you could,” Andy chuckled, straightening to his full height. “C’mon, guys. Uncle Jake’s a-waiting!”

With cries of joy, the kids leapt onto the foot of the bed and gently crawled up to give him goodbye hugs and kisses, then crawled back down and jumped off. Thankfully the frontman had grabbed his glass of orange juice and coffee mug before letting them on the bed, not wanting them to accidentally spill it, then set them back down once the coast was clear.

Andy chuckled and gave him a quick goodbye-kiss before grabbing his keys, phone, and wallet, then set off to drop the kids off. He sighed as he leaned back against the pillows, fluffed and stacked up just the way he liked them when he wanted to be propped up in bed, and pulled the tray as close as his belly would allow. The child within was almost trying to break his ribs again, probably as hungry as he was, and it drew a soft chuckle from him as he stabbed a bite of the scrambled eggs on his plate. It never ceased to amaze him how squirmy his little ones got during pregnancy when he was hungry.

Once he’d finished his food, Ash set the tray aside and got up so he could get dressed. Yeah, it was likely to be more of a challenge this morning, considering that his lover wasn’t around at the moment, but he’d find a way to manage. Then again, on second thought, he could always take a decently long shower that he was just getting out of as his husband got back home; then he’d actually be there to give him a hand. Considering how bad his back was aching again, he liked that idea.

He quickly picked out what he wanted to wear that day, which was another pair of gym shorts and a wife beater, and laid them on the foot of the bed along with his boxers before heading into the bathroom. He started the shower to give it time to warm up while he was undressing, which was a bit of a chore with his belly getting in the way. By the time he’d finished stripping, the water was at the temperature he liked during pregnancy, seeing as he couldn’t have it as hot as he preferred when he wasn’t pregnant, so he stepped in. The warm water cascading over him drew a soft moan from him, especially as it loosened the muscles of his back, and he stood there for a couple minutes before lathering his shampoo into his hair.

“Aww, why didn’t you wait for me, mio deviante?”

Looking out the frosted-glass door, he saw his lover standing by the counter pouting. “Sorry, my back was hurting again,” he answered, returning the pout.

“Mind if I join you, then?” Andy asked, grinning.

“Go ahead, mio profeta,” he told him, rinsing the shampoo out.

“Mmm… This is one thing we don’t get to do often enough anymore,” his lover purred into his ear, pressing himself up against his back side. “Ah, the downside of having children.”

“You didn’t try to get me to abort or put them up for adoption,” Ash pointed out, leaning back against him.

“Now what kinda man or father would I be if I did that, knowing full well we could take care of them and give them a decent life?” he asked.

“True enough, I suppose,” the bassist agreed. “I was just thinking because of our ages.”

“Age is but a number, as far as I’m concerned,” his lover pointed out. “Yeah, we could’ve waited until we were older, but hey, we wouldn’t be who we are today if we had. That, and our kids likely wouldn’t be who they are, had we waited.”

“You’ve got a point there,” he agreed, sighing as he began to massage his back.

It wasn’t long before those gifted hands of his went from massaging him to caressing him, and in both ways and places that turned him on. Course, it wasn’t nearly as hard as it could’ve been to turn him on, what with his libido mimicking a rabbit’s since he was pregnant. Ash moaned softly as he leaned forward, crossing his arms as he rested them against the shower wall, his head resting on them. His eyes drifted shut as his lover teased his sweet spots, gently trailing his lips and fingers up and down his body.

The moment he felt one of those fingers nudge his entrance, he gasped as his eyes flew open, knowing what his husband wanted. Considering that his libido was higher than average when he wasn’t pregnant, it wasn’t often that he told Andy no when he wanted to make love, but right now, not even the Hounds of Hell could get him to. Pregnant or no, he wanted to feel his lover inside him again the most intimate of ways, and his body said as much as he arched his back to attempt pushing back against his finger. Besides, it’d been a while since they’d been able to make love, both because of his pregnancy, and their children.

With a chuckle, the younger man gently added a second finger, keeping his pace slow as he stretched his sweetheart out again. It wasn’t long before he was scissoring him, then adding a third finger, drawing forth sweet moans that were music to his ears. Ash pushed himself back even further, wanting more than what he was getting, especially when he nudged his prostate with said fingers.

Since he couldn’t use lube or a condom in the shower, Andy was gentle about how he entered his husband just a couple short minutes later. He took his time, despite the older man wanting it somewhat rough and faster, since he didn’t want him to tear, and was soon bottomed out inside him. He gently wrapped his hand around Ash’s throbbing member, slowly stroking from base to tip as he waited for him to adjust, enjoying the breathy sounds of pleasure that he made. Once his sweetheart nodded his head jerkily, he slowly began to move, increasing his pace and the strength of his thrusts as time passed. Before long, he felt his muscles clenching around him, and knew that he was close.

“Oh, my Godsmack!” Ash moaned, throwing his head back.

“What is it, mio deviante? You like that?” he asked breathlessly, still stroking him as he thrust.

“Oh, Godsmack! Yeessss!” he groaned, screaming and moaning like a whore as he thrust against his prostate. “Mio profeta! I-I’m g-gonna cum!”

“Then cum for me, sweetheart,” Andy growled, encouraging his pleasure. “I wanna hear you scream my name in pleasure.”

“A-Andy! Mio Dio, mio profeta!” He screamed, just as he’d requested, as he began to throb in his hand.

“Ohhh, Ashes…mio deviante.” He growled his pleasure while continuing to gently thrust into him as he rode out his orgasm.

“T-ti a-amo molto, m-mio profeta,” Ash whispered breathlessly, allowing him to help him slump down.

“Anch’io ti amo molto, mio deviante,” he answered, sitting down and pulling him into his lap. “Ti amo più di quanto posso mai strillare.”

“Mmm… I’m so lucky to have you as a husband,” he murmured. He gently nuzzled his chest as he snuggled against it, sighing in the aftermath of such pleasure.

“I’m just as lucky, if not more so, that you agreed to be my husband,” Andy countered. “I’ve almost lost you several times, both by your own choice and by circumstances you have no control of. I love you so much, sweetheart, that I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“These days, I’m too happy and have too many people who depend on me to die by my own hand,” the bassist assured him. “If I die any time soon, it’s going to be due to circumstances that I can’t control.”

Too choked up with his love for the man that he held in his arms, the younger man merely held him close and showed him his love with the gentle kiss he gave him. As he’d said many a time before, and even in one of the songs he’d written, he’d die for this man to ensure his safety. He’d do anything short of killing himself or one of their children to see him happy. Nothing else mattered to him more than his continued good health, safety, and happiness.

* * *

By that evening, they’d made love several more times in just about every room of the house, with the exception of their kids’ rooms and Amy’s suite. They were both happily sated for the moment, and equally thankful they hadn’t caused the bassist to go into pre-term labor from all the muscular contractions during his orgasms. They were both somewhat sore, but it wasn’t anything they hadn’t dealt with before and couldn’t deal with again.

Now they lay in their bed, snuggled up together as they started to drift off to sleep. It’d been a long day, high amounts of sexual activity or no, so they were more worn out than on the days when they actually had their kids around. Ash was even more tired than his lover, considering how pregnancy sapped his energy to start with, and was nearly asleep in his arms. The only thing keeping him awake at this point was the gentle movements of their baby as it settled down for the night, trying to find a comfortable position in what was undoubtedly cramped quarters.

“I love you so much, mio profeta,” he murmured sleepily, one arm under his pillow while the other rested along his side. “I think this has been the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

“I love you just as much, mio deviante,” Andy answered softly, gently kissing his temple. “And I’m glad it was that special for you.”

“Just having you and the house to myself for a day would’ve been special enough,” the bassist yawned. “But that combined with all the lovemaking…no amount of words in any language could describe how I truly feel about that.”

“Then this really must’ve been one helluva birthday for you,” he chuckled.

“Now I’m so worn out I just wanna sleep for a week,” he said, yawning even louder.

“Well, go on to sleep. We have to get up early for your appointment with Dr. Hill tomorrow, anyway,” the young frontman reminded him.

“Buona notte e sogni dolci, mio marito. Ti amo molto,” Ash whispered, his eyes fluttering shut one last time before he fell asleep.

“Buona notte e sogni dolci, mio marito. Anch’io ti amo molto,” his lover whispered in return, gently kissing his temple.

Andy reached back to turn off the lamp on his nightstand so they’d have pitch-blackness to sleep in and wouldn’t be blinded if either of them woke up in the middle of the night. As gently as he could, he snuggled up to his sweetheart even more, his arm gently wrapped around his expanding waist, after pulling the covers up over them a little more. Once finally comfortable, he sighed softly, knowing his warm breath tickled the back of his neck, even though he was asleep. It wasn’t long afterward that his pleasant exhaustion got the better of him, and he followed him into Dreamland without a fight.

Notes