Together Again

Two days later, Ash was lounging in the back yard next to the pool. He’d already been swimming, something his doctor had told him would be good for both him and the babies. She’d told him that gentle exercise such as that gave him a bit of a workout without hurting any of them, and he’d jumped on the opportunity.

Now he was just letting the sun dry him off as much as possible before he went back inside. As he’d told Andy, after having the girls, he couldn’t tolerate as much exposure to sunlight without burning as he could before he’d had them. He’d forgotten that he could tolerate even less while actually pregnant until shortly after he’d come back to LA, something that proved to be painful and a pain in his ass. He’d had to get Logan and Jinxx to help rub aloe vera lotion all over him till the sunburn healed, which included his ass.

Having never been one to repeat the same mistake twice, Ash soon levered himself up off his towel and started to head inside. His lover looked up at him from where he and CC were playing chicken with the girls in the pool, his brow cocked curiously. The older man merely chuckled and pointed toward the house, silently letting him know he was going back inside, which earned him a nod.

“Had to run to the bathroom?” Jake asked when he came in a few minutes later, scrubbing his head with a towel.

“Well, that was part of the reason,” he laughed from where he was now stretched out on the couch.

“Oh? Andy’s kinda worried about you, ya know,” his friend told him.

“I can’t take as much sunlight now as I could years ago,” Ash explained. “After I had the girls, it screwed up my body chemistry so that I burn easily if I stay outside too long. It’s even worse while I’m pregnant than when I’m not.”

“Ahhh, I gotcha,” the guitarist said, nodding. “Better to get back inside now since you’re already turning a light shade of pink.”

“I am?” the older man asked, glancing at himself.

“The tops of your shoulders, anyway,” Jake answered.

“Shit,” he grumbled, starting to push himself up. “That means I’m burning, and if I let it go for too long, I’m gonna be in trouble later.”

“You stay there, and I’ll go grab your aloe vera lotion once you tell me where it’s at,” his friend told him.

Ash quickly told him where to find it in his and Andy’s bathroom, then made himself as comfortable as he could. Since it was easier and more comfortable on his back, he just straddled the back of a chair, his arms crossed on top with his chin resting on them. When his friend came back down, he figured he’d gone into the kitchen and smiled when he saw him already waiting on him.

The lotion was cool and soothing, telling him that while it might be minor, he’d definitely started to burn a bit. He moaned softly and sighed, Jake’s hands gently massaging out any kinks in his muscles while he rubbed the aloe vera lotion into his skin. Somehow, he was able to keep the gentle touches from turning him out, but he didn’t know how.

He gasped loudly as his head shot up a few minutes later, his eyes widening as he took in the furious expression Andy wore. The younger man’d growled at their friend, apparently taking the scene he and their daughters walked in on wrong. Without question, the guitarist took his hands from his shoulders, which earned him a whimper of disapproval, holding them up in surrender as he took a couple steps back. He didn’t want to make his friend mad, and it was obvious he thought he’d been making moves on him.

“What in the nine Hells was that, Ashley?” his lover growled, his eyes a deep shade of blue.

“You really think I’d cheat on you, Andrew?” he growled in response, his own eyes narrowing.

“Daddy, I honestly don’t think there was anything dirty going on,” Magick stepped in to say.

“And how do you gather that?” Andy asked, turning his attention to the younger twin.

“Look at the tops of his shoulders, his arms, and his upper back,” she said, glancing at the body parts in question.

The younger man took a closer look, gasping softly when he realized they were pink.

“Exactly, Andy,” the guitarist said. “When I noticed he was turning pink, I offered to put aloe vera lotion on him to keep it from getting worse.”

“You know I wouldn’t cheat on you,” Ash said softly, sounding almost like he was going to cry.

“Fuck…I’m sorry, Outlaw,” he said, immediately kneeling next to him. “I read the situation wrong because I didn’t realize you were turning pink.”

The girls both reached over and Gibbs smacked him, rolling their eyes as they did.

“Hey, cut me some slack. My vision’s not what it used to be, and I’m still half blind from the sun,” his lover growled at them. “If I’d been able to see clearly and seen that he was a little sunburnt, I wouldn’t have accused him, either directly or indirectly.”

“Riiiight,” Legacy drawled, sarcasm dripping off the single word.

“I wouldn’t have. You know how high-strung I’ve been lately; I’m also protective as Hell over those I love,” Andy said.

“I can vouch for that, baby girl,” the older man agreed. “He’s always been extremely protective of what and who he loves.”

“Since I can’t tell, is he burnt anywhere else, Jake?” he asked.

“His chest and belly are a bit pink, but I was gonna save those for you,” their friend answered, nodding.

“Thanks, man,” his lover said. “And again, I’m sorry, Outlaw.”

“It’s all right, Batman,” Ash told him, returning the gentle kiss he gave him.

With the lotion rubbed into his shoulders and upper back, he was already feeling a little bit better. Jake nodded to his lover and the two worked together to rub it into his arms from shoulder to wrist, each man gently working on an arm. He wasn’t nearly as successful at keeping the gentle touches from turning him on now that the younger man was also touching him, causing them both to chuckle.

Once his arms, shoulders, and back were all coated with the lotion, Andy gently helped him up. They’d already decided that if the younger man rubbed it into his chest and belly, it’d be best if they retreated to their room for him to do so. It was already easy to turn him on, but it’d be even easier if he so much as grazed his fingers over his chest. The hormones made the majority of his body, but especially his torso, hypersensitive to anyone’s touch, but especially his lover’s. Even Jake’s touch could’ve turned him on if he touched his chest, but it was just something he couldn’t help.

As comfortable as he could be at twenty-eight weeks pregnant, Ash kept himself propped up with several pillows. If he laid flat on his back, it was too hard to breathe with the weight of his pregnancy pressing down on his organs. Another thing his doctor had told him was that it could cut off his circulation, which wasn’t good for the babies.

Keeping his touch gentle, Andy began to rub more of the aloe vera lotion into his sweetheart’s front side. He tried not to let his fingers do more than graze over his chest, knowing how tender it was and not wanting to repeat a previous mistake of being too rough with it. He’d nearly gotten his fingers broken due to that, and he didn’t want to be in pain any more than he wanted the older man to be. Thankfully, his feather-soft touch seemed to be just what he needed, as evidenced by the moans he let out.

“Having a bit of an issue there, Outlaw?” he chuckled as he wiped the excess lotion off his hands a short time later.

“Ugghhhh,” Ash groaned, arching his back. “Soooo…horny.”

“I might be a tease, but I’ll bet it’s better than the last time,” the younger man chuckled.

“Much,” he whimpered. “The last time…well, if I didn’t find a way to hump the edge of my mattress, I was screwed.”

“And not the way you wanted to be,” Andy said, smirking.

“Far from it. It was already weird enough getting Grama to help me get dressed; can you imagine what she’d have said if I begged her to jack me off?” the older man managed to chuckle.

“Even as open-minded as I remember your grandparents being, I bet she’d have flipped a lid if you’d asked her to do that,” his lover laughed.

“Oh, she’d still have done it,” Ash told him. “But she’d have had a heart attack once she was done.”

Andy smirked and chuckled as he crawled onto the bed beside him, gently caressing his belly as he worked to turn him on. While his sweetheart might’ve been on the verge of pitching a tent in his pants, he wasn’t quite to that point just yet. He never liked trying to bring him pleasure until he reached that point, but they didn’t have far to go.

Not more than five minutes later, the older man was writhing almost as if in agony, begging him to get him off unless he wanted to be emasculated. Too fond of living and the current placement of his genitalia, he chuckled softly as he slowly and gently prepped him. He knew he was still loose since his body was adapting for a natural birth on top of their fairly active sex life, but he still didn’t want to hurt him. It was just one of the many little things he did that he knew Ash greatly appreciated.

* * *

Later that evening, Ash was thoroughly confused as he prepared himself for a night out with his boyfriend. The younger man had told him to dress for a night on the beach, which meant a pair of swim trunks and a loose shirt since he wasn’t comfortable showing his belly in public. Clearly, he was taking him to the beach, but considering that they went fairly often due to living in LA, as well as had their own pool, he couldn’t figure out why.

Granted, he wasn’t going to turn down some alone time with Andy, not by a long shot. Between taking care of the girls right after they moved from Tennessee, preparing for their new babies, and just having the guys over quite a bit, they never seemed to get enough alone time. If going to the beach for a late evening or even midnight date was what it took to spend some time together, just the two of them, he’d bite. What happened over the course of the night would determine if he took a second bite or not.

By the time they finally got to the beach, the older man was excited for their alone time while the younger was incredibly nervous. Andy hadn’t been this nervous since preparing to go on stage as the frontman of Black Veil Brides, and that was nearly twenty years ago. Then again, it wasn’t every day that one proposed to the man they loved so hard won.

“Easy does it, Outlaw,” he said, gently cupping his sweetheart’s elbow.

“Since when did you turn so sappy?” Ash chuckled, smiling as he helped him down the beach.

“I’ve always been a bit of a sap; I just chose who I showed it to wisely,” his lover answered. “Well, maybe not so wisely, in one case.”

The older man nodded, knowing he was indirectly talking about his ex-wife, and decided not to question him.

“Anyway, I figured we could use some time together,” the younger man continued, stopping a few yards from the breaking waves.

He waited patiently, one hand pressed against the small of his back, the other cupping the bottom of his belly, while he spread out a blanket for them to sit down on. “I hope you’re planning on helping me back up when we’re ready to leave.”

“Of course I am. Why would I make my pregnant boyfriend sit on the ground and refuse to help him back up?” Andy laughed, sitting down beside him.

“Well, I hope you’ve got something good in that basket,” he said, eyeing the basket he’d brought with them. “Making me skip out on dinner has pissed these two off.”

“Awww, Daddy’s sorry,” his lover said, leaning over and gently kissing his belly. “Daddy just wanted to do something sweet for Mama.”

Both twins seemed to accept his apology, as he’d swear they nuzzled the inside of his belly in an attempt to nuzzle their daddy’s lips.

“I think they were trying to nuzzle me,” he chuckled.

“I think you’re right,” Ash agreed, laughing as he rubbed his belly. “I’m guessing that means they accept your apology.”

Still chuckling, Andy reached into the basket and pulled out two covered plates, apparently containing a homemade meal. He knew his eyes widened in glee when he handed him one of the plates, the growling of his stomach proving how hungry he was. Being twenty-eight weeks pregnant with twins wasn’t as easy as women made it look by a long shot, something he proved every day.

With a squeal of delight, the older man sniffed the air over his now unwrapped plate appreciatively before digging in with the fork he was handed. Shimp alfredo was one of his favorite dishes since he preferred seafood and poultry over red meat. He’d been eating a lot of the latter lately since the babies needed it, but if not for them, he wouldn’t have been.

His lover chuckled softly as he started digging into his own plate, watching him with a grin as he devoured his food. The younger man was glad he was enjoying what he’d made, especially considering all the effort that went into the meal he’d made from scratch. Andy honestly hoped he’d have enough room for dessert, but then again, he might not since he was already full of baby, too. Even if they couldn’t enjoy their dessert while on the beach, he supposed it didn’t really matter. What mattered was if he got the answer he sought in a little while, and that’s what had him feeling so anxious.

Once they’d finished their food, the younger man stowed their plates back in the basket before offering his sweetheart dessert. Ash grimaced a bit and shook his head, rubbing his belly on the left side just under his ribs. Realizing that he was just a bit too full to manage it right now, he merely nodded his assent and said they’d save it for later. That earned a bit of a pout from the older man, but he knew it was better to save it than try to eat too much. He didn’t want to cause himself pain or make himself sick by eating too much.

“You okay, Batman?” he asked, taking note once again of his lover’s anxiety.

“Well, I’ve got something I wanna ask you,” Andy said, pausing midsentence to clear his throat.

“Sure, shoot,” his sweetheart said, waiting patiently.

“You know I love you, right?” the younger man asked, somehow sounding even more nervous than before.

“Of course. You don’t even have to tell me; I can see it in your eyes,” he answered, nodding. “And I love you just as much.”

“Well…forgive me if I ramble a bit,” he said, clearing his throat again. “I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember; I’d lay my money on the day we met, actually. Yeah, we made some idiotic decisions and kept things from one another that kept us apart, but we’ve overcome that, and we’re stronger than ever.

“I honestly can’t see myself continuing my life without you, and now our children, in it. I love you more than I can ever scream, and I wanna prove to you just how much. I hope that what I’m about to show you takes your breath away, as well as proves my love for you like nothing else can.” With a deep breath, Andy opened the little box he’d since pulled from the pocket of his swim trunks and held it out for him to see, somehow managing to keep his mouth shut while he looked at it.

“Oh, my…” Ash’s eyes widened and he clapped his hands over his mouth, barely able to believe the sight of the onyx and amethyst crowning the platinum band before him.

“Will you, Ashley Purdy, do me the extraordinary honor of becoming my lifelong Outlaw and marry me?”

Notes