Together Again

Not quite a month after reuniting his family, this time permanently, Andy was busy planning out their Fourth of July celebration. The holiday was only a couple days away, and what he wanted to do was likely to set off fireworks, and not just the kind that everyone liked to see explode in the sky. He was nervous about his plans, hoping that he got the result he desired, but there was no telling just yet how things would turn out.

Ash noticed how jumpy and nervous his lover was, and the one time he tried to question him, he practically got his head bitten off. Obviously, that’d hurt his feelings a bit, and he’d avoided him for the most part ever since that day a week ago. He didn’t like feeling so distant from the younger man; it reminded him too much of his first pregnancy.

Even Legacy and Magick were aware of how distant their parents seemed to be, and they knew that wasn’t like them. They’d almost been joined at the hip ever since initially reuniting the previous summer, and they couldn’t understand what’d happened. The younger twin was able to get their mama to open up a bit, and when she found out their daddy was a bit mean to him, she was pissed. Granted, that wasn’t nearly as bad as how her older sister reacted when she passed on the information, which led to their current situation. They were about to corner the younger man in his office, he wasn’t going to like what they had to say.

With their mama out with Jinxx to start picking out stuff for the single nursery they were setting up, it was the perfect time to ambush him. Andy wasn’t even aware of them sneaking up outside his little office, which was normal. Aside from him being a bit airheaded and not always paying the best of attention, the girls could be incredibly sneaky when they wanted. That was how they managed to sneak a cookie or two right before bedtime when they were younger, and they were using that deviousness now.

“Daddy.”

At the more or less growled word, Andy’s head shot up and whipped around to face his daughters, his whole body following.

“Care to tell us why you were mean to Mama?” Legacy growled, her arms crossed and foot tapping.

“I wasn’t mean to him,” he denied. “Well, not intentionally, anyway.”

“You were so mean to him!” his older daughter exploded, her blue eyes as dark as the ocean. “Why the fuck do you think he’s been avoiding you all week!?”

“Don’t you raise your voice at me,” the younger man growled. “Secondly, don’t cuss at me, either.”

“If it’ll getcha to listen, then damn it, I’ll do it! And I’ll take any punishment you decide to throw at me for doing it, too!” she snapped.

Taken aback by his daughter’s very forward behavior, Andy snapped his mouth shut and decided to just hear her out since she didn’t act this way without a reason.

“I dunno what you did to Mama, but you hurt his feelings!” she exploded. “I doubt you’ve noticed, but whenever he’s avoiding you, he’s typically crying! Neither of us like seeing Mama cry, so whatever you’ve done, you need to apologize!”

“I honestly don’t—” he started, then stopped abruptly as his eyes widened.

“Realized what you did, Daddy?” Magick asked. She sounded like she was torn between sneering at him and sounding curious.

“I think so,” he answered, nodding. “I’ve been pretty nervous about something I’ve been planning, and when he tried to ask me, I might’ve accidentally snapped at him.”

Both girls crossed their arms and tapped their feet, clearly awaiting a better explanation.

“If I tell you girls, you have to promise to keep it a secret,” Andy begged. “I don’t want him finding out too soon and ruining the surprise.”

Legacy and Magick nodded their assent, but still seemed a bit skeptical.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled the ring box he’d been hiding from the drawer it was currently in before spinning back around to face them. He opened the box to reveal a platinum band about three millimeters in width, but it was the crowning jewels that caught and held their attention.

They gasped when they saw the single black onyx, which was centered on the band and a full carat in size. On either side of the onyx were two marquis-cut amethyst, all four of which added up to another full carat of stones. It was an exquisitely beautiful ring for a man of equal beauty, and it’d cost him quite a pretty penny. Granted, he didn’t give a damn how much it’d cost him; he’d have spent whatever it took to make sure his sweetheart had the most beautiful wedding set on the planet.

“Wow… Daddy…” the girls breathed, looking back up at him.

“I’m pretty sure I don’t have to say what this ring is,” Andy chuckled, closing the box.

“No, not really,” Legacy said.

“That’s why I don’t want Mama knowing just yet. And I’ve always been a bit snappy when I’m nervous about something, especially this big,” he sighed. “I guess I forgot that he doesn’t take harsh tones quite the same way with all those hormones messing with him and forgot not to be quite so harsh.”

“You still need to apologize,” Magick told him, frowning. “While we get why you were so harsh, but still…”

“I know, angel. Now that you’ve pointed it out to me, I know why you guys came in here ready to rip me a new one,” the younger man chuckled.

“We’re not gonna tell him what’s been going on, but we’re still gonna make you apologize to him,” they chorused.

“I’m gonna apologize as soon as he and Uncle Jinxx get back,” Andy swore. “If I don’t, I’ll actually stand still and let you both kick me in the balls.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Legacy said dryly, rolling her eyes as she looked at her twin.

“I’m serious. I hurt Mama, and if I don’t apologize for it, I deserve to be hurt myself,” he told them.

“And you know as well as I do that kicking a man in his family jewels is a good way to hurt him,” Magick agreed.

Rolling her eyes, his older daughter agreed, saying that she was really going to make her kick hurt if she had to dish it out. He’d be lucky to still have his balls by the time she was done with him, which made him audibly gulp. Somehow, he was able to refrain from cupping his crotch protectively, seeing as it was his own fault she was making that threat, but his eyes still widened a bit.

Once his daughters were satisfied that he was going to keep his word, they left to go hide themselves and wait. Andy ran a hand through his hair, which was grown back out to the length it’d been when Ash ran off, as he thought about what he’d offered to let them do. No, he wasn’t going to like taking a kick to his balls from both his daughters, but he meant what he’d said. He deserved to be hurt by them for hurting their mama if he didn’t apologize, and he was a man of his word. However, he planned to do the right thing so he wouldn’t have to keep that word and let them hurt him badly.



Upon getting home from shopping for his unborn twins’ nursery with Jinxx, Ash sighed heavily as he sat down. While he was glad to be back home so he could get off his sore feet, the last week had been so strained that he honestly wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay home. The stress wasn’t good for him or the babies, and he needed to get away so he could fully relax.

His eyes were closed when he heard footsteps enter the living room, and he didn’t bother opening them. He figured it was just Jinxx, who’d taken several things up to the spare room that would soon be the nursery, and he didn’t feel like looking up at his friend. There was nothing wrong with holding a conversation with his eyes closed, as tired as he was, and his friend had already told him that was perfectly fine. The slightly younger man had already told him that was perfectly fine, that he might not necessarily want to keep his eyes open if he didn’t have to, if he were the pregnant man.

So to say feeling a gentle hand take his was a shock would be an understatement, to say the least. Ash gasped and his eyes flew open, his first reaction to be attempting to jerk his hand away and scoot back from the person. When he realized it was just his boyfriend, he frowned, wondering what he wanted.

Andy’s ever-expressive eyes turned sad at his reaction, and he looked down at the floor he knelt on. He heard a soft sigh come from him, and if he didn’t know any better, he’d swear he saw a tear slowly trailing down his cheek. That made the older man a bit suspicious as he gently, yet protectively, cupped his belly, but then again, he figured maybe he should hear him out. He’d never known his lover to cry in the past, so he knew that whatever he was coming to him for in tears now was pretty serious.

“Ashes, my love, my Outlaw…” the younger man said, clearly sounding choked up.

Now a bit more curious than not, he didn’t try to pull away when he gently took his hand again.

“It took the girls pointing it out to me, but I realized just how harsh I was to you last week,” Andy said softly, finally daring to look up at him again. “I can’t say what’s had me so stressed out lately; it’s nothing bad, so don’t worry about it. But I’m sorry for snapping at and being so harsh to you.”

“Apology accepted,” Ash said softly, gently caressing his belly with his free hand. “But what made you actually come and apologize to me?”

“Really not wanting to uphold my reputation of being a man of my word,” his lover chuckled, gently embracing him.

“Really, now?” he asked, now curious beyond words.

“Well, I told the girls when they confronted me about hurting your feelings that, if I didn’t apologize as soon as you and Jinxx got back, they both had free reign to kick me in the balls,” the younger man laughed.

“Oooh, yeah…I can see why you wouldn’t wanna have to keep that promise,” the older man chuckled.

“Yeah, the last thing I wanna do is willingly take that kinda pain,” Andy chuckled.

“Kinda like…” His sweetheart trailed off and grimaced, tightening the very slight grip he had on his belly. “Owww… Sweet Jinxx, y’all. Settle down and quit trying to break my ribs and make my bladder explode.”

His younger lover chuckled as he realized that the babies were really giving his prostate Hell, but he didn’t want to admit it where the girls could possibly hear. While he didn’t really seem to care who heard him when they were younger, either maturity or the fact that they were his children seemed to make him care now.

Andy chuckled as he picked him up and carried up to their room, something he hadn’t done in a week. Every time he’d tried to get close to him before making his apology, the older man would scoot away or lock himself in another room. Even when he went to bed before him, he’d scoot across the bed in a subconscious attempt to get away from him in his sleep whenever he tried cuddling up to him. Hopefully his apology would remedy that problem, as he missed holding his sweetheart in his arms as they slept.

With a grin on his face, Ash relaxed in his lover’s arms as he was carried upstairs. He’d missed being any degree of intimate with him over the past week, but his hurt feelings prevented him from wanting any closeness. One couldn’t really blame him since he’d snapped at him for no apparent reason, but now that he’d apologized…well, he couldn’t help but want every ounce of intimacy possible with him.

The younger man gently laid him on their bed, even more gently than he normally would’ve, considering that he was twenty-seven weeks pregnant. He knelt on the edge of the bed next to his hip, gently kissing him as he cupped his cheek with one hand, caressed his torso with the other. Andy didn’t miss his slight shiver, and considering how warm it was, he knew it was a sign of his arousal rather than being cold. He smiled against his lips, his thumb hooking under the hem of his shirt as his hand skimmed back up toward his chest, slowly revealing the tanned skin.

“Mmmm,” Ash hummed, looking up at him with wide, chocolate eyes as he broke their kiss.

“What is it, Outlaw?” he asked, thoroughly confused as he stopped him from pulling his shirt up any higher.

“I—I d-don’t…” the older man stuttered.

“You don’t want me seeing you?” he asked, cocking a brow.

“I feel like a whale, Andy,” he admitted sheepishly, blushing at his own words.

“You’re far from being a whale, Ashes,” Andy murmured, gently kissing the spot behind his ear. “And I don’t care if you have stretch marks; to me, they’re battle scars from the wars you’ve fought to nourish our children before working hard to bring them into this world.”

Having never thought about it like that before, he cocked his head as he thought about it for a moment.

“I dunno if you’ve ever listened to it, but part of one of our songs goes, Proud in all you are, showing every scar as your badge of honor. When you can’t take any more of what they’re living for, set the world on fire.”

“I haven’t,” he admitted. “But that’s definitely one way to look at it.”

“Any stretch marks or imperfections you have from pregnancy are just battle scars, badges of honor, as far as I’m concerned,” Andy told him. “If you still don’t want me to see, that’s fine, but I honestly could care less about those; it’s you I care about.”

Knowing that his lover wasn’t going to turn away from him in disgust, but rather completely ignore any imperfections he had helped give him a confidence boost. With a subtle nod of his head, Ash gave him permission to continue pulling his shirt up and subsequently over his head and off.

He reveled in the younger man’s gentle touches, the kisses and kitten licks he used from head to crotch to get him even more worked up than he was before. He screamed his pleasure to the heavens above thrice before his lover ever entered him, showing how much he enjoyed being with him. By the time it was all said and done, he’d cum so many times from his pregnancy-induced hypersensitivity that getting off was the furthest thing from his mind. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was a bit sore later.

After pleasuring his sweetheart more than he’d thought he would, as well as finding his own pleasure, Andy cuddled the older man as he drifted off to sleep. He hadn’t meant to put out the flames of their passion for the past week, but he was still thankful he’d been able to make amends. That brought peace to his mind as he soon dozed off for a nap of his own, his arms still wrapped around the man he loved.

Notes