Dark Magick

Later that evening, Ash awoke to a few softly-spoken words and a hand gently rubbing up and down his back. He blinked and yawned as he sat up, sleepily rubbing his eyes as he realized that his best friend—the father of his children—was standing next to his bed. It’d been him to rub his back and murmur softly in his ear to wake him up, which was a far kinder way than CC—whom he could hear downstairs—would’ve done.

Even though he’d been napping ever since they got back from his doctor’s appointment—and technically earlier since he fell asleep in the car—he was still tired. He supposed that being pregnant would make him more tired than normal, and being pregnant with twins just worsened the effect, though.

Seeing that he wasn’t awake enough to walk on his own just yet, Andy gently scooped him up bridal-style and headed for his bedroom door. Silence fell in reign upon the living room when they entered, the rest of the guys looking at them. CC started cooing at them, saying they looked so cute, especially the bassist since he was still half-asleep, Jake laughed at their friend’s idiocy, and Jinxx groaned and face-palmed. This brought a sleepy smile to his face, but he pouted when his best friend put him down on the loveseat.

“Shhh. It’s okay, Ashie,” he murmured, gently rubbing his back. “I’m just going to dish up and start serving dinner.”

“B-but…” Ash pouted, giving him his best puppy-dog eyes.

“You wanna feed our little ones, right?” These words were whispered in his ear, meaning he hadn’t told the guys yet.

“Yes,” he conceded, still pouting.

“I’ll be back in a couple minutes, Ashie,” Andy promised, gently kissing his temple.

“Jeez. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you two were together,” Jake chuckled as he headed to the kitchen.

“Seriously. He really does treat Ash like a…ahem, girlfriend, doesn’t he?” the multi-instrumentalist agreed.

“They look so cute together!” his partner-in-crime gushed.

“CC, can it,” the guitarist sighed. “I don’t think either of them want—or need—this much excitement.”

The bassist had to make sure to keep his mind quiet as he smiled at them sleepily, knowing Jinxx could hear his thoughts like his best friend could.

“All right, guys,” Andy said, coming back into the living room. “Normally I’d wanna eat chicken and rice at the table, but I doubt Ash wants to sit up for too long.”

“Not really,” he answered, shaking his head. “I feel my best when I’m laying down.”

“I thought so, Ashie,” the frontman said. “You guys go on and dig in while I’m getting drinks.”

“Need some help, Andy?” Jinxx asked.

“Nah, I’ve got it. You just go on and dig in,” he answered.

Shrugging, the remaining quartet started eating, although Ash wasn’t exactly keen on what he’d made. The rice might help his nausea, even though it was cooked almost to death, but he wasn’t really sure. There was really only one way to find out, and he hoped it didn’t leave him worshiping the porcelain god in just a short while.

Moments later, Andy returned with three glasses held between his hands, another two tucked against his sides. Jake and Jinxx grabbed the two held between his sides and arms, then he set the others down on the coffee table and pushed one toward the drummer. Everyone thanked him, spewing their praise at how good his cooking was. Their kind words brought a slight blush to his cheeks, and the bassist couldn’t help but chuckle softly, which earned him a tender smile.

As they ate and conversed lightly, he wondered what the guys would say about him not only being pregnant, but with twins, to boot. They were already saying they looked so cute together, that Andy already treated him like a girlfriend; would they be insisting that they actually get together, especially after the babies were born? He really hoped not because, despite being in a woman’s body, things were already awkward enough between them.

Once everyone was done eating, the frontman gathered the dirty dishes and took them to the kitchen, where he loaded them into the dishwasher. Upon his return to the living room, he had several bottles of soda and one of ginger ale pinned between his arms and sides. He said it was just easier to bring the bottles to the living room, considering that they’d likely be empty before the night was over, than to keep taking the glasses back and forth between the kitchen. Besides, the less he had to get up off the loveseat, the less of a chance he had to set off his best friend’s iffy stomach.

“So what’d you guys find out at his appointment earlier?” Jinxx asked curiously. He’d been the only one besides Andy he’d told about scheduling it.

“Well, Ash most certainly is pregnant, just like I said,” the frontman answered. “You guys might wanna put your glasses down for this, though.”

Eyeing him warily, the others did as he asked, all giving him curious looks.

“During the ultrasound that confirmed my pregnancy, we found out we’re having twins!” Ash told them excitedly.

“Oh, my Godsmack,” the multi-instrumentalist breathed.

“Wow, guys,” Jake agreed, his eyes widening.

“Congrats, you two!” CC cheered. “If you weren’t pregnant, Ash, I’d say it’s time to celebrate!”

“Yeah, but we all know what your idea of celebrating is, Ceese,” his best friend chuckled.

“So I’ll just throw a mini celebration for ya when I get home,” he said, sticking his tongue out at them.

“You go right ahead and have fun with that,” Andy told him, still chuckling.

“You’re not even wanting to have a couple shots yourself?” Jinxx asked, surprised.

“I’m not much of a drinker. That, and I don’t think it’s fair to Ash if I drink when he can’t, especially since it’s my fault,” he answered, shrugging.

“You know, Jinxx, he’s got a point,” the guitarist piped up.

“Yeah, I suppose he does,” the slightly younger man agreed. “So how far along are you?”

“About seven and a-half weeks,” Ash answered, smiling. “We kinda lied and said things got so crazy on tour I didn’t think I missed my period because of anything more than stress till I started waking up sick.”

“Wait a minute—you kinda lied? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, yeah. I don’t care if you call me Ash, but in public, my name’s Ashlynn till we can break this spell,” the bassist explained.

“Oh, really?” Jake asked, sounding a bit skeptical.

“Yeah. I’ve got ID and everything saying that my name is Ashlynn Aspen Purdy,” he answered, nodding from where his head lay on Andy’s leg. “I told the bureaucratic idiots that I was an abused girlfriend on a Cherokee reservation when I applied for my social security card, which was why I didn’t have a social security number or anything else in the system.”

“Smart thinking, Ash,” Jinxx said. “Now no one’ll be the wiser about any of this…till the babies are born.”

“What do you mean, Jinxx?” Andy asked curiously.

“Well, he got himself a new feminine identity, but what about when they’re born? What are you guys gonna put down for the mother’s name?” he countered.

“Hmm…” the frontman hummed thoughtfully. “I didn’t exactly think about that.”

“Exactly. If he puts down Ashlynn Aspen Purdy as the mother’s name, then he won’t be able to have custody of them after the spell’s broken,” the multi-instrumentalist continued. “If he puts down Ashley Abrocket Purdy, that’s gonna open up a whole other can of worms if someone does enough digging to find out that name’s really associated with a male.”

“I’ve got a right good mind to check into the hospital with my real name then,” Ash said. “I mean, Ashley is technically viewed as a traditional girl’s name; I could say I have no idea where my parents got my middle name from.”

“What about when you have to show ID?” Jake asked.

“Good question… Fuck, I think I’m screwed all the way around,” the bassist groaned, turning his face into his lover’s thigh.

“I’m pretty good with Photoshop, on top of all my other talents,” Jinxx said. “And I’ve made a couple fake IDs lately that fooled even a state trooper. I think I could manage to make him a fake ID with his real name, but a current picture of him.”

“What about when his doctor asks why he checked in under a different name, though?” CC asked curiously.

“Have you considered a midwife and home birth?” the multi-instrumentalist asked him.

“I’m not sure if that’d be safe, considering that I’m having twins,” he answered, shaking his head. “I mean, what if something goes wrong, and I have to be rushed into surgery for an emergency C-section, just so all of us survive?”

“He’s got a good point with that one, Jinxx,” Andy agreed, his expression turning worried. “If it were just one baby, I wouldn’t think anything of it, but twins?”

“True enough. I still don’t think it would be a bad idea to look into,” he told them. “I mean, that’s one of those things you could ask your doctor’s opinion on, and if she asks why, just tell her you had a bad experience in a hospital as a kid, and you try to avoid ’em whenever possible.”

“That’s not exactly very far from the truth,” Ash admitted. “I was in the hospital with a fever when I found out my parents died.”

“But who took you?” Jake asked curiously.

“My grandparents. I was staying at their house for the weekend because it was already planned before I got sick. When my fever spiked to almost a hundred-and-four, my grama insisted on taking me to the hospital,” he answered, tearing up a bit. “It was shortly after my fever broke and I was becoming coherent again that a state trooper found us and told my grandparents right in front of me, thinking I was asleep.”

“Well, that’s a bad enough experience to make any kid wanna avoid a hospital as an adult, if you ask me,” CC said, shuddering. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“It’s in the past, Ceese,” the bassist answered softly. “I like to think that, even if it may not be the afterlife I’ll end up in one of these days, they’re in a better place. They’re not in pain, and they’re not suffering. Better than living a life full of pain and suffering every day that they’re alive, right?”

“I guess that’s one way to look at it,” they all agreed, even Andy, who’d already stated in interviews he didn’t believe in such a thing.

The quintet sat there talking for a while longer, but Ash felt himself getting tired all over again. Being pregnant was certainly more draining than he’d thought it would be, and he supposed being pregnant with twins only made it worse. Laying on the couch with his head in his best friend’s lap certainly didn’t help.

A couple hours after they’d finished dinner, which he’d surprisingly been able to hold down, Andy was gently running his fingers through his hair. Having always enjoyed when someone would play with his hair, the bassist merely laid there and allowed him to do so, even though it was putting him to sleep. He didn’t even realize that he’d laid there and fallen asleep with his head in his lap until he felt himself being moved. At that point, he barely cracked open his eyes, which was when he realized he was being carried.

His best friend gently shushed him when he started to ask what he was doing. He told him that, because he was obviously tired and had fallen asleep with his head in his lap, he was putting him to bed. He asked about the rest of the guys, and he told him that they’d probably stay a while longer before heading home themselves. That wasn’t a guarantee, but they both knew how the guys were.

With a soft moan, Ash snuggled into his bed and nuzzled his pillow after he was laid down on it. The younger man tucked him in and gently kissed his temple as he would a small child, intending to leave him in peace afterward. He begged him to come back and cuddle with him after the guys left, both because he was a cuddler and because he wanted the comfort of having his childrens’ father near him. Andy couldn’t find it in himself to tell his best friend no and promised he would. That brought the bassist some peace of mind and he drifted off to sleep again before he could even close his bedroom door.

Notes