One Last Kiss

Over the course of the next couple weeks, the rest of the guys helped Andy and Ash get moved out of their tiny apartment that they were giving up. They still hadn’t told them why they were moving, aside from that it just didn’t seem right for a newly wedded couple to keep living in a small apartment, especially with all the money they had collectively.

Jake and CC both thought that they really wanted to get out of the cramped quarters, something they’d been complaining about for a while. Jinxx, however, already suspected that there was more to it than that, and they both knew he did. They saw the look in his eyes when he glanced at them, and knew that they’d have to tell their friends about the bassist’s pregnancy, and soon. They just weren’t quite ready to tell them, and besides, they wanted to get settled in their new home before they said anything. Time was of the essence, considering that they’d have to embark on Warped Tour 2013 very soon.

By the time they embarked on said summer tour, Ash’s morning sickness was beginning to slack off. He still needed a bit of ginger ale to get through the day, but that was nothing in comparison to what it’d been like a few weeks ago. He was finally able to sleep through the night without waking up nauseous again, although the nausea would kick in for a short while right after he woke up. All in all, although he wasn’t feeling his absolute best, he was feeling much better.

“Morning, Ash.” Looking up, the bassist saw Jinxx emerging from the bunk room of their bus.

“Morning,” he answered, yawning softly.

“You sleep good last night?” the multi-instrumentalist asked.

“Better than I have in a while,” he admitted, smiling at his friend.

“What’s wrong? We’ve all noticed you haven’t been acting quite right,” Jinxx told him, concern lacing his voice as he joined him.

“I’m fine; healthy as a horse,” the bassist assured him. “I’ll tell you later so I don’t have to repeat myself.”

“That’s fine by me,” his friend agreed, nodding. “I knew you’d tell us when you’re good and ready, and I can understand not wanting to sound like a broken record.”

“Thanks, Jinxx. You’re the best friend and brother a guy could ask for,” Ash said.

“Morning, sweetheart.”

Untangling himself from the multi-instrumentalist’s hug, he looked up to see his husband. “Morning, Batman. What are you doing up so early?”

“Woke up and you weren’t there, Outlaw,” Andy answered, nuzzling his temple after sitting on his other side. “You know I can’t sleep without you.”

“Aww. You two are so cute together,” Jinxx cooed, dodging when the bassist swatted at him.

“You really are.” The looked up to see Jake and CC finally emerging from the bunk room, as well. “If we didn’t know you two were married, we’d ask why you weren’t.”

Ash blushed furiously at the guitarist’s words, making the drummer chuckle softly.

“Thanks, guys. Your support means a lot to us,” the young frontman said, wrapping his arms loosely around his husband.

As the rest of the guys cooed at their cuteness once again, he drew his sweetheart in for a good-morning kiss. The bassist sighed into the kiss, tempting his young, horny husband into dragging him back to the bunk room for a good-morning romp, but he managed to stave off his urges. Andy knew without a doubt that if the older man was up this early, it was because his morning sickness was acting up a bit, not because he wanted to be. Knowing that, he was determined to do everything he could to help, not harm, him and their baby.

Once Jinxx’d made breakfast a short while later since he was the best chef out of their group, they all settled onto the couch and loveseat. The latter was left open for the only married couple on the bus, while the others crowded onto the former however they could. It was one of the few ways the frontman and bassist got some alone time while on tour, and they knew it.

Unfortunately, before he could even finish his breakfast, Ash felt his stomach lurch uncomfortably after the bus hit a particularly nasty bump. Setting his plate on the coffee table so it wouldn’t get knocked over, he jumped up and darted into the tiny bathroom at the back of the bunk room. He barely hit his knees in front of the toilet, the seat and lid open, before he started heaving. With one hand, he clung to the bowl as if it were a lifeline, the other making a feeble attempt to hold his hair back, as his eyes smarted with the force of his vomiting. He’d be so glad when this part of pregnancy was over, but he couldn’t say he didn’t enjoy knowing another tiny life was growing inside him.

In the midst of one of his wretches, Andy dropped to his knees beside him, taking over holding his hair back while rubbing slow, soothing circles into his back. Now that he didn’t have to hold his hair back for himself anymore, the bassist clung desperately to the toilet bowl with both hands. His ribs were beginning to hurt as he continued to heave, even though there was nothing left for him to regurgitate. After a few more moments, his stomach stopped lurching and he was able to stop heaving. His breathing was still ragged and he continued to lean over the toilet, but at least he wasn’t vomiting anymore.

“You okay, Outlaw?” his lover asked quietly, continuing to rub his back.

“As well…as I can…be,” Ash panted, slumping back against his chest.

“I’m sorry you feel so bad, sweetheart,” the frontman crooned softly, gently kissing his temple. “I promise, you’ll never have to go through this again, if you don’t want to.”

“Damn right I won’t,” he groaned, reaching up to flush the toilet. “I don’t think I could handle this again in this lifetime.”

Even though he was still a bit shaky, his lover helped him back to his feet and to the living area. The rest of the guys, especially Jinxx, were concerned and asked what was wrong, but he still felt too weak to answer. Andy was too focused on his well-being to answer at the moment, even though he wanted to. Neither of them were sure when they’d tell the guys their news, but they knew it’d have to be soon.

* * *

That night after their show, Andy and Ash agreed that it was time to tell the guys their news. The poor bassist had gotten too hot halfway through the show and had to hand his bass off to his husband, knowing he needed to go cool off immediately. It was causing him to feel nauseous again, which led to him kneeling in front of a toilet backstage with a roadie holding his hair back for him. The poor guy thought he was just hungover from too much partying the night before, but he couldn’t have been further from the truth.

With the rest of their friends and bandmates worried sick about him, they knew they couldn’t hide it any longer. Not that they wanted to hide such joyous news from those they held nearest and dearest to their hearts, but they just hadn’t been quite ready to tell them. Considering that his morning sickness had acted up around them twice now, Ash doubted he could hide it much longer, even if he actually tried.

“You okay, Ash?” Jake asked, helping him sit down. “You don’t look so good.”

“Ginger…ale,” he panted, swallowing heavily as he tried to calm his stomach once again.

“Right here, Outlaw,” Andy said softly, gently pressing a bottle into his hand. “Remember, take small, slow sips. It’ll help.”

“Mmm,” the bassist moaned around the mouth of the bottle. “I fucking hate this.”

“What’s going on, Andy?” the guitarist asked, utterly confused.

“Wait till Jinxx and Chuppy get here, then we’ll explain,” the frontman told him. “We don’t really wanna feel like broken records.”

“All right. Suits the Hell outta me,” Jake agreed, throwing his hands up in surrender.

Moments later, the multi-instrumentalist and drummer boarded the bus, wiping their faces and necks with cool towels as they tried to cool off from the show. Andy was swinging a wet rag around in the air to cool it off for his sweetheart, knowing that cooling off would help settle his stomach. He smiled at him sweetly as he began to gently wipe his forehead, which garnered him a small smile from the older man. Ash was grateful to have such a wonderful and loving husband, knowing that he could’ve picked worse when choosing the person with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life.

“All right, guys. We have an announcement to make,” the frontman said once they were all settled.

“What’s up with Ash?” CC asked curiously. “He doesn’t look too good, and he had to quit the show halfway through.”

“He’ll be fine; he just got too hot, is all,” Andy answered.

“You sure we don’t need to take him to a hospital?” Jinxx asked, concern lacing his voice and etching his features.

“I’m sure. Unless he gets too dehydrated, he’ll be fine,” the baby of the group insisted.

“So what’s been going on lately?” Jake asked, sounding both curious and concerned.

“Well, we weren’t exactly expecting this, but we found out that he’s pregnant,” the frontman announced.

“Really?” their friends chorused.

“So that’s why you were wanting to move,” CC said, his eyes lighting up.

“Well, that was part of the reason,” Ash admitted sheepishly, his voice soft since he still didn’t feel his best. “We’d been talking about moving into an actual house, anyway; finding out I’m pregnant just cemented that decision.”

“Couldn’t have happened at a better time, if you ask me,” the guitarist said.

“So when are you due?” Jinxx asked.

“December seventeenth,” the bassist answered, gently caressing his belly. “As of right now, I’m twelve weeks, and boy, I can’t wait for the morning sickness to end.”

“I bet,” the multi-instrumentalist chuckled. “It looks like it’s killer.”

“Oh, it is.” He nodded his head. “Some days, it’s all I can do to hold down crackers and ginger ale, if only for the baby’s sake.”

“I dunno about the rest of the guys, but I was beginning to wonder if you were bulimic or something,” CC said. “You seemed to be losing weight, and I heard you throwing up more than once, but didn’t question it. Morning sickness makes more sense, considering that you looked miserable.”

“Yeah, getting him to hold down food has been a challenge,” Andy chuckled, gently wrapping his arms around him.

“It’s not like I haven’t been trying,” Ash grumbled.

“I know that, Outlaw, but you can’t blame us for worrying about you,” he said softly.

Knowing that he was right, the bassist accepted the gentle kiss his husband pressed to his lips. He was beginning to cool off, which led to him feeling better and better, although his stomach still wasn’t completely settled just yet. Considering that none of their friends wanted to do anything to upset it again, Jinxx asked what they all wanted for dinner that wouldn’t cause the pregnant man to run for the bathroom again.

After a bit of arguing amongst themselves, they finally agreed on the vegetarian lasagna that Sammi’d taught her husband how to make. Sure, it was a bit late and they were all tired, but the multi-instrumentalist didn’t mind cooking it, especially if it agreed with their miserable friend. Given that they were the most tired since they hadn’t been getting much sleep, Andy and Ash were run off to shower and relax while their friend got to work on his culinary masterpiece. Even though they were also ready to shower and relax, Jake and CC agreed with that, wanting them to be comfortable.

In the tiny bathroom in the back, the pair slowly stripped each other while the shower warmed up to just a hair above lukewarm. The bassist didn’t want to overheat again now that he was finally cooled off enough for his stomach to settle, and his lover was still working on cooling off completely. Once their clothes were off, the younger man wrapped his arms loosely around his sweetheart, pulling their bodies as flush as he dared while giving him a sweet kiss. The bassist moaned softly into the kiss, bringing out his husband’s inner caveman, even though he hadn’t meant to. If he weren’t young and horny to start with, he honestly would’ve sworn that his hormones were rubbing off on and effecting him just as much.

By the time they were finally done showering—which included a short, gentle romp—they headed back to the living area to relax. The scent of Sammi’s vegetarian lasagna wafted about in the air, making all their stomachs growl longingly. Ash blushed furiously since his growled the loudest, but he’d been unable to really hold much down lately, so they couldn’t really blame him. He and his lover just hoped he’d be able to hold down what was being served tonight, and for more than a few minutes.

“All right, guys. Here ya go,” Jinxx said a short time later, handing each of them their plates.

“Thanks, Jinxx,” the guitarist answered, nodding.

“Smells great, man,” CC agreed, grinning widely.

“It really does,” the baby of the group chimed in. He reclined against one armrest of the loveseat, his sweetheart leaning back on his chest.

“Oh, my Godsmack,” the bassist moaned, sniffing the air. “Smells so good I just wanna wolf it down.”

“Don’t eat too fast, Outlaw,” Andy told him. “You don’t wanna set off your morning sickness again.”

“But it smells sooo good, Batman,” he whined, his stomach growling again. “And I’m sooo hungry. I feel like I haven’t eaten in weeks!”

“I know, I know,” the younger man sympathized, kissing his temple. “But if you wolf it down, you could set off your morning sickness again. Do you really want me to have to pull your head out of the toilet again?”

“No,” the bassist pouted, his chocolate eyes sparkling.

“Then eat slowly, mio deviante.”

Still pouting, Ash ate slower than the rest of them, although his lover tried not to eat as fast as he normally would so he didn’t feel even worse. CC, being the human garbage disposal that he was, was the first to finish his food and headed to the kitchenette for seconds pretty quickly. Jake and Jinxx both decided after the giant plates the multi-instrumentalist had dished up for them that they’d had enough and went to the kitchenette only to put their dishes in the sink.

With the others in bed for the night now, Andy did his best not to eat so fast that he made his sweetheart feel bad about having to eat so slowly. Although he still finished before his husband, it wasn’t long before the bassist had managed to clean his plate as well. He gave a soft burp, but this one didn’t sound distressed in the least, unlike the majority of the burps he’d been letting out lately.

Once he felt his meal had settled enough, he slowly rose from the couch so he could take his dishes to the kitchenette, smiling as his lover ran him off to the bunk room after they found their way to the sink. He knew that the older man was tired and ready for bed, and didn’t want him pushing himself too hard. Ash yawned softly while maintaining the smile on his face as he got changed, listening to his lover’s quiet movements as he put away the few leftovers. Now that he’d completed that task, it wasn’t long before Andy’d changed as well, nor before they were cuddled up and sleeping as peacefully as a moving apartment would allow for the night.

Notes