Present time…



Andy was silent as he concluded his tale, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he was shocked to find out he was a father after so many years. Then again, was he planning on denying having fathered his daughters, saying instead that there was no way he could’ve gotten pregnant since he was a man?

“So you ran away…because you were pregnant?” he asked, sounding as if he were struggling to believe him.

Sighing, he rose and pulled out his pregnancy album, which he hadn’t touched since the day the school had called and told him about Legacy and Magick starting their periods in class. He sat down on the couch, beside his best friend this time instead of across the room, and opened the album. He watched as he took a look at his very first ultrasound, humming thoughtfully as he took in the fact that it had his name on it. Then he flipped to the page with the picture he’d written Suck it across his bulging belly.

“Okay, okay, I believe you,” the younger man laughed. “Even if I weren’t able to tell that’s definitely your physique, the words prove it well enough.”

“What can I say? I haven’t changed much in seventeen years,” Ash chuckled.

“Ya got that right, Mama!” one or both of the girls called.

“You didn’t know me seventeen years ago since you weren’t born yet, smartass!” he responded, his eyes glittering.

“And you were terrified that I’d think you were a freak?” Andy asked, immediately sobering up from their laughter. “Ashes, you should’ve known that I’d never think you were a freak. Even if it’d taken a paternity test to prove to my stubborn mind that they really were mine, I’d have never thought you were a freak. If Nature intended me to have children with another man, that’s what was meant to be, and I’d have accepted it.”

“Andy, I was scared…downright terrified,” he admitted with a sigh. “My hormones being outta whack from the pregnancy, and realizing that I was even pregnant at all, weren’t exactly helping me think straight.”

“Still, you could’ve told me before they were born that I was gonna be a father and let me decide what I wanted,” the younger man told him. “I get that you were scared and didn’t know what to do, but I’ve missed out on, been robbed, of so much, because of that choice.”

Ash hung his head in shame, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“I can’t go back and change the past, and considering how stressed out you must’ve been, I forgive you,” he continued, gently wrapping his arms around him. “Even if you and I don’t have the same relationship as we used to, even if you don’t come back to LA…I wanna get to know my daughters.”

“Our daughters,” he automatically corrected, which would take some getting used to for him, too.

“Still…I’d love for us to still be friends, maybe even more, since we know how both of us feel now,” Andy told him, grinning. “If that’s not meant to be, though, I’m fine with that, as long as I at least get a chance to get to know Legacy and Magick.”

“You’re not just gonna flit in and outta their lives like Peter Pan, are you?”

“Well, aside from possibly not getting to spend as much time with them as I’d like because of the band, no.” He shook his head furiously as he denied such a thing. “But even if I don’t get to spend as much time with them as I think all of us would like, there’s still Skype and good old-fashioned phone calls.”

“True enough,” Ash laughed, reaching up to wipe away his tears. “Sorry for sounding so mean about asking that. I’ve put them first and foremost for so long now that it’s just second nature to me.”

“Don’t worry about it, Ashes,” his best friend answered, gently kissing the top of his head. “I’d rather you put them first, like any good mother should.”

“Lemme call ’em down, and you can meet ’em,” he said, grinning as he rose from his seat and put the photo album back in its place. “Legacy! Magick!”

“Yeah, Mama?” they heard from upstairs.

“Come down here! I have someone I want ya to meet!” he answered before returning to the couch.

It took a few moments, but before he knew it, he heard two sets of feet galloping down the stairs before the twins came into the room. He looked over at Andy, whose eyes welled up with tears when he saw his daughters for the first time in their lives. The girls looked shocked, as they knew what he looked like, for the most part, from pictures taken back before he’d fled to keep his secret hidden.

“Daddy?” they chorused, finally remembering to breathe.

“They know who I am?” Andy asked, turning to him.

“They asked me why they didn’t have a daddy when they were eight, and I couldn’t bring myself to lie to them,” he answered. “I never told them you were in a band, though.”

“Wait a minute, Mama. What?” Legacy spoke up, her jaw gaping.

“Close your mouth before you start catching flies,” he chuckled. “And yes, Daddy’s in a band. I used to be in the same band with him, before I found out I was having you girls.”

Flabbergasted, the twins flopped down on the love seat together, having never liked being separated from one another.

“With the exception of their eyes, they look just like you, Ashes,” his best friend said.

Ash blushed furiously, even though he’d known it was true from the first moment he saw them.

“So you girls have wondered where I was, huh?” Andy asked, sounding a bit mischievous.

“A bit. Mama would tell us a little about you, stories from before we were born, but not much,” Legacy answered, speaking for both of them.

“Under a rock, apparently,” the younger man laughed. “I never knew he had the ability to carry children, much less was having you.”

“You really never knew about us?” Magick asked.

“Never. He left us, and by that I mean me, Jake, Jinxx, and Sandra, a note saying that one of his grandparents was sick and he was going home,” he answered, shaking his head. “By home, we knew he meant Missouri, and after that, we never heard another peep from him.”

The girls turned dirty looks on him for a moment.

“I was fairly young, scared, and confused,” Ash defended himself. “Scared, because I didn’t know if he’d accept that he had a baby on the way, considering that I didn’t know I was having twins till after I got to Missouri. I was confused because after seeing that little plus sign, it was almost like my brain was completely rebooted, and in stupid mode, at that.”

“Did you two ever love each other?” their younger daughter asked curiously.

“So much that when he wrote me that letter when y’all were in kindergarten about wanting me to be his best man, I wanted to cry,” he answered honestly. “And before I ask, yes, I still love him just as much as I ever did.”

“Glad to know it, Ashes, since I still love you just as much,” Andy said, gently nuzzling his temple.

Both girls let out soft awwws as he blushed and leaned into the touch, rather than getting pissed at him and shoving him away. The younger man was just as happy that he’d done no such thing, that he’d actually leaned against him, and sighed happily. He knew it might take time to build up any kind of relationship with them, but that was fine by him.

Ash wanted desperately to go back to LA with him, but he couldn’t just uproot the girls. They were born and raised here in central-Eastern Tennessee; dragging them out to Southern California at the drop of a hat could fuck with them a little too much. Thankfully, his best friend-turned-lover understood that and said that he was willing to let him take his time in making such a decision. He knew it was an important decision, and when it came to the girls, he wanted no decision to be rushed.

The trio sat and chatted for the rest of the day, the older couple slowly getting to know what had and hadn’t changed about the other over the years. The girls finally got to start getting to know their daddy and vice versa, and for that, he was thankful. It might take time before he ever decided to move back out to LA or not, or for their relationship to ever go beyond friends, but he was happy with his life as it was since love never fades.

Notes

And that's a wrap, guys! I had a ton of fun writing this over the course of the couple days that it took from start to finish a couple weeks ago, and I hope y'all had as much fun reading it!

BOLO for its sequel, which is currently still in the works, sometime soon. I'll put in the short description line when I start posting it what it's the sequel to, as I don't wanna give any spoilers to y'all. Granted, saying there's a sequel is already a bit of a spoiler, but y'all are smart enough to get the point...

Anywhore, stay tuned for this story's sequel and updates to any other incomplete stories I decide to post. Happy reading!
~Cyn