Hanging by a Moment

By the time Warped ended in late-August, Ash was happier than he remembered being in a long time, aside from the night he found his daughter. Because she was so young, he’d insisted on bringing Legacy along on that tour, just like he’d done on the last leg of the Black Mass tour. Of course, he trusted Rebel implicitly to care for both girls while he was touring, but he’d felt she was just too young to leave at home.

Seeing his logic and concern, his friend had agreed to come along on Warped and act as a babysitter again, something Logan’s father didn’t like. The asshole had tried petitioning the courts to get temporary custody of her while they were on tour, but that was where the bassist felt the need to step in.

He finally managed to convince the courts that he wasn’t the loving, caring father he portrayed himself to be, but rather the opposite. The only reason he didn’t beat on poor Logan like she was a human punching bag was because of her age. Part of what’d helped him with that endeavor was that he’d socked Rebel right in the face the evening before said court date, leaving her with a shiner eerily reminiscent of his Set the World on Fire-era war paint. Seeing that, as well as how he refused to touch her without permission, made them realize that it’d been the other man to leave that damage behind in plain sight.

With that, Logan’s father was arrested for assault, which landed him in jail. During the time they were on the summer tour, detectives had gone back through old case files and realized that the young woman had been telling the truth all along. That resulted in additional charges, which included the rape that led to the conception of Logan. To say that he had quite the reservation for the cross-bar hotel would be an understatement, but it made them all happier.

“Ready to head home, sweetheart?”

During said tour, Ash’d all but begged his friend for a date, which she’d accepted. It’d taken him a bit longer, and a little fancy footwork, but he’d eventually landed her as the first girlfriend he’d had since Kina. Being able to call her his sweetheart was something he’d only dreamt of since she’d told him he cuddled her in his sleep.

“Oh, more than ready,” Rebel answered, smiling with relief as she nodded. “I dunno ’bout you, but I’m sick of living in such cramped quarters.”

“I’m so sick of it myself,” he agreed, sitting down on the couch beside her. “Granted, the apartment’s not much bigger. Actually, that reminds me of something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” she asked, cocking a brow curiously.

“Yeah. Considering that the girls are only gonna get bigger, and are gonna need their own space sooner or later if we stay together, I was thinking maybe we should start looking for a bigger place once we get back to LA.”

“Sounds like an awesome idea. I can tell that, while she loves her like a little sister, Logan’s already kinda sick of sharing a crib,” the young woman laughed.

“Which is exactly my point. They might still share a nursery for a while, but I think we need to find a place where we can put two cribs in the same room,” Ash said. “Logan’s closing in on her first birthday, and Legacy’s six months old. They’re only gonna keep growing, and we already knew they couldn’t share a crib forever.”

“Well, for now, I say we get some sleep and continue this discussion in the morning.” Rebel stretched her arms above her head and arched her back. “Personally, I’m exhausted, and I don’t think worth a shit about such things when I’m like that.”

“Oh, I’m just as tired,” he agreed with a chuckle. “And honestly, I don’t tend to make very informed decisions like that when I’m exhausted, either.”

Without really giving her much time to prepare herself, the bassist lifted his sweetheart up bridal-style and cradled her to his chest. With a soft yelp of surprise, she wrapped her arms around his neck while her legs dangled over one arm, her back resting against the other. He very rarely picked her up like that, both because she was so independent that she didn’t always want to be carried and because Logan’s father had done that right before he raped her so she couldn’t escape.

Thankfully, Rebel knew that he wasn’t that particular man from her past, that he was someone completely different, and didn’t try to fight him. In fact, she merely snuggled closer to him as he carried her back to the bedroom on their bus, sighing as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Ash was gentle about putting her down, remembering that she’d told him earlier that day that she had a pretty nasty backache. He figured it must be bad enough that it disturbed her sleep the previous night, which would explain why, on top of chasing after their daughters, she was so exhausted. He didn’t realize that she’d started her period the evening previous shortly after dinner, and that it always left her feeling fatigued.

“I’m gonna run to the bathroom real quick while you’re locking up,” the young woman told him, stopping him from tucking her in.

“All right, mio acciaio rosa,” he said, grinning as he remembered the Italian translation of the nickname he’d given her.

“Mio subdulo angelo,” Rebel chuckled as she closed the bathroom door.

Shaking his head, the bassist headed back up to the front part of the bus so he could lock the door, given that the driver was on board, and turn off many of the lights. If they weren’t going to be up and active, he saw no point in many of them being on, especially while they were riding down the road.

While he was locking up, the young woman quickly changed her tampon and downed another dose of Advil, grimacing as she rubbed her back. She couldn’t remember a time in her life that’d hurt worse aside from while laboring with Logan. That was the one thing that topped all other forms of pain, and she wasn’t afraid to let the guys know. The only thing she’d be sympathetic toward them where pain was involved was broken bones, and even then, that was only if they hadn’t done something stupid to break said bones.

By the time Ash returned to the bedroom, his boxers riding low on his hips as they always did, she’d crawled into bed and settled down as much as she could. One look at the grimace on her face made him pout, as he hated when she didn’t feel good. The moment he crawled into bed behind her, he made her roll face-down so he could return the favor of the massage she’d given him the night she filled in for him. He’d do anything to make sure she and their daughters were safe, happy, and healthy, and if that meant giving her a back massage to help her sleep, so be it.

It wasn’t long before Rebel relaxed under his ministrations, her muscles turning to putty in his hands. He only realized she’d fallen asleep in the middle of the massage when she sighed and a sweet smile crossed her lips. Now that he realized she was was sleeping peacefully, the bassist moved from straddling her ass to his side of the bed. Sensing the change in position, she scooted over so she was pretty much draped across him once he was settled on his back, and his sleep was peaceful and short in coming.



Upon arriving back at their apartment in LA, Ash worked himself into the ground bringing all their belongings in while his sweetheart worked on getting the girls settled. They were both in the middle of their morning nap, and since neither of them wanted to wake them and she was still in pain, they agreed for her to take them in.

The second she walked through the door, the young woman was stumbling and tripping over Apollo, who was trying to twine around her ankles, as well as Tokyo and Killer, who were jumping on her legs. It took her no more than two seconds to get the dogs to stop barking, nor much longer to get the entire trio out from under her feet. With that task done, she quickly headed upstairs to put the girls in their temporarily shared crib so they could finish their nap.

By the time she got back downstairs, the bassist had all their bags in their room and was working on getting his amps and basses lined up in the living room. It wasn’t a very big room, in comparison to some places she’d lived, and he didn’t want anyone tripping on them. Additionally, the more he was able to hide them, the less tempted Logan and Legacy would be to mess with them. If they could stop them from messing with them, it’d keep them from breaking them, which would save money and avoid pissing him off. She’d had to see him mad once and only once to know pissing him off was a really bad idea.

It didn’t take more than two seconds for Ash to realize that her back was still bothering her, and he immediately pulled her down into his lap. Of course Rebel didn’t argue, as he left her more than enough space to get up and walk away if she wanted. Then again, she knew he’d never bind or otherwise restrict her unless it was for her own good, so she wasn’t afraid of him doing such a thing.

“Feeling at least a little better, sweetheart?” he asked when she started purring.

“Mmm hmm,” the young woman hummed, her expression blissful.

“Good. You know I hate seeing you in pain,” the bassist said, pouting as he hugged her close while she sat between his thighs.

“I hate being in pain,” Rebel sighed, leaning back so her head rested on his shoulder.

Still pouting, he said nothing since he wasn’t sure why she was in pain in the first place.

“If she were standing in front of me, I’d deck Mother Nature into the second Tuesday of next week,” she groaned as he gently massaged her hips, his arms wrapped around her waist.

Ash couldn’t stifle a chuckle as he put the pieces together and figured it out. “Awww, my poor steel rose. You want a hot bubble bath?”

“Like you’d go do something so feminine as draw a bubble bath,” she chuckled.

“Oh, I would. Hell, I’d even jump in it with you, blood or no,” the bassist swore. “Contrary to popular belief, I actually like ’em.”

“Really now? I don’t think I’ll believe that till I see it with my own two eyes,” Rebel laughed.

Taking her words as a challenge, he picked her up as gently as he could and carried her to their bathroom, where he set her down on the closed toilet just as gently. Still a bit skeptical, she crossed her arms in such a way that enhanced her cleavage while he turned to the tub, purposely ignoring the display. He’d never really been much for sex while a woman was on her period, although he wasn’t completely opposed if she was willing.

No more than five minutes later, Ash had a full bubble bath drawn, complete with her favorite lavender scented bubble bath poured in. He even turned on the jets to make sure the volume of the bubbles didn’t really decrease over time before turning back around and drying his hands on his jeans.

Before she could protest, not that she would’ve, anyway, Rebel found herself being told to lift her arms up. She readily complied, not arguing in the slightest when he gently pulled her shirt up and subsequently over her head. Even if she hadn’t let him see her nude before, not even after they started dating exclusively, she didn’t care. She found herself loving this man more and more with each passing day, and besides, she was in too much pain to give two shits right now. In fact, she smiled her thanks as he cupped her cheek while reaching around behind her to unclip her bra.

Once he’d finished stripping her and all her clothes were in the hamper, the bassist helped his sweetheart into the tub. He couldn’t resist a tender smile as she sighed while leaning back against the tub. Seeing her comfortable, safe, and happy meant as much to him as she herself did, and that thought made his smile grow wider as he pulled his own shirt off. The soft rustle of clothing was what made her crack open her eyes, only to be greeted with the sight of his shirtless form, something she’d seen countless times.

The only thing about him she’d never seen before, at least not while he was nude, was the rocket launcher he hid in his pants. When her eyes locked on his groin and she registered his flaccid size, her jaw dropped at the same time her eyes widened. Logan’s father was the first man she’d actually slept with in a sexual sense, although she was by no means mentally innocent when that’d happened. Therefore, Rebel’d never truly seen how a man was built, aside from her ex, and even then, he’d had what she could only describe as a needle dick. As far as she was concerned, if a man was so tiny that no matter the position they used, she could barely feel him, that was just too damn small. Her ex was the physical epitome of that; of that, she had no doubt.

Ash couldn’t help but burst out laughing at her shocked expression as she stared, but filed her reaction away for later use. He knew he was well-endowed, had known it since he was fairly young, but she’d never actually seen how well. Sure, she’d felt it when he’d cuddle her in his sleep and wake up with the dreaded affliction of morning wood, but that was different than actually using it on her. Judging by her reaction, she obviously wasn’t a virgin since she was both a mother and former rape victim, but she wasn’t very experienced, either. He merely shook his head as he sat her up and climbed into the tub behind her, choosing not to even playfully pick on her for her lack of experience as he got settled.

“Feeling better now, mio acciaio rosa?” he asked, taking up her body sponge to gently bathe her.

“Mmm hmm. The heat’s helping with my backache a bit,” Rebel answered, nodding where her head rested against his shoulder again.

“Good. I’m glad to hear it,” Ash murmured, smiling as he felt his crotch filling the curve right at the small of her back. “I can’t stand it when you’re not feeling good.”

“I can’t, either, mio subdulo angelo,” she hummed, her words slurring together as she relaxed.

“From what I recall my grama saying when she’d get to fussing with my grampa over it, the pain of a period is no joke.” He gently drew the body sponge over her breasts, making sure to keep his touch gentle so he didn’t hurt her. “Then again, I wanna say I also remember her saying the pain of labor isn’t, either.”

“A period is mild compared to labor,” the young woman said. “Yeah, it hurts, but it doesn’t feel like your innards are literally trying to force themselves outta your body from between your legs.”

“While I might have a pretty high pain tolerance myself, I don’t think I could take that,” he winced. He never once said nothing about somewhat knowing her current pain, deciding that it wasn’t really something she needed to know at the moment.

“I didn’t, either…till I had Logan.” Rebel sighed as he started pouring water over her head to wash her hair with. “It hurt so bad it actually made me throw up, but the second I saw her face for the first time…”

“It was like nothing else, not even the pain, mattered at all, right?” he asked.

“Exactly. I wasn’t even aware of being completely exhausted, nor did I really remember how much pain I’d been in till after I got some rest,” the young woman answered.

“I know I wasn’t the one to give birth to her, but that sounds almost exactly how I felt when I pulled up that receiving blanket and saw Legacy’s face for the first time,” Ash admitted, sounding a bit sheepish. “Her beauty outdid even the most beautiful slut I’d ever slept with, and even though I didn’t know about her existence till that moment, I felt as strong a connection to her as I do to my grandparents.”

“Speaking of, don’t they still have yet to meet her?” she asked curiously.

“Yeah, they do. They were both sick after the Black Mass tour ended in April, so I told them not to worry about it right then.” He nodded as he spoke. “Considering that she’d also recently been sick, I thought that was the better idea so she wouldn’t get sick again.”

“It was, seeing as babies’ immune systems are weaker than those of adults,” Rebel agreed. “Maybe we should invite ’em out so they can meet her.”

“Or we can all go out to Missouri,” he suggested. “They’ve been wanting to meet you and Logan, too.”

“Really, now?” She was a bit surprised that his grandparents would want to meet her.

“Rebel, I’ve told ’em everything I know about you, and they already love you.” Ash smiled down at her lovingly. “They haven’t seen me act or feel this way about a woman in years, you helped me when I was desperate, and they commend you on being able to carry on and give your own daughter the best you possibly could, even when you likely just wanted to hide in a hole and die.”

Knowing he was referencing the first few weeks of her pregnancy right after she was raped, she knew exactly what he meant.

“They’ve both told me that they couldn’t have picked a better woman for me if they tried,” he chuckled, gently kissing her temple.

“If you’re sure you wanna take the time between tours to go back East, I’m game,” Rebel agreed.

“Of course I’m sure. It’s been a while since I got to see Gran and Gramps,” the bassist chuckled. “Well, in person, anyway. Skype isn’t quite the same.”

“Oh, I highly agree there,” she told him. She said nothing of having no one but him and the guys worth Skyping with. After all, there was a reason she’d relocated to LA in the first place.

Shortly thereafter, the young woman wasn’t doing much more than humming softly in response to anything he said or asked her. She was still exhausted from the rigorous touring schedule, as well as caring for their daughters. Being unable to really sleep for the past couple days due to her cramps hadn’t helped.

When she seemed like she was more asleep than not, Ash slowly and gently managed to get himself out of the tub and grabbed a towel. He was really only wet from the waist down, so he wasn’t too concerned with drying off at the moment. He was more concerned with getting his steel rose out and dried off, maybe even dressed, before carrying her to their bedroom so she could take a nap of her own. She’d worked herself too hard lately and he felt it was no less than she deserved.

After completing those few tasks, he gently lifted Rebel up bridal-style once again, not surprised when she was asleep before he even got out of the bathroom. He managed to stifle a soft chuckle till he got her tucked into bed, smiling as he brushed her hair back and kissed her temple. Only then did he allow himself to chuckle softly as he dried his legs before pulling on some clean clothes of his own that he grabbed from his closet.

“Sleep well, mio acciaio rosa. Ti amo molto,” he murmured, kissing her temple again before he left her to sleep in peace.

“Anch’io ti amo molto, mio subdulo angelo,” Rebel murmured in response, her words slurring since she was responding to him in her sleep.

With a smile plastered to his kisser, Ash closed their door gently behind him and went to check on their daughters.

Notes