#nathan

Heart of Gold Act II updated with two new pages!

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nunnatheinsanegerbil:

notajerusalemcricket:

laughconfetti:

visualshock:

this scene is so fucking funny the english dub of this show is so good

loud warning

kajiuna:

Dr. Eggman misses his wife :(

Poking the Bear

(Story Post)

It didn’t take long to confirm the wolf’s pregnancy once the heat was over. Nathan was still upset with Reid so he didn’t engage much with him during the appointment, and simply treated him as a doctor and nothing else. Dax was a bit concerned, but he was sure Nathan would warm up again eventually.
The plan before all this had always been to spend as much time as they could up at Kent’s cottage so he could see his kids, so that was their next stop. They called ahead and planned to stay about a week to make the travel worth it since going up and down to the city every few days wasn’t reasonable.
When they got there though, Kent was still a bit surprised. He took the twins first and got comfy with them on his couch before he asked any questions though, and let Dax and Nathan get themselves a couple drinks.
“You’re supposed to still be in cycle,” Kent pointed out when Nathan finally sat down with a glass of water. “You said you didn’t want to be here for that.”
Nathan nodded and took Dax’s hand when he sat down beside him. “Yes. We’re going to talk about that.”

“You are, are you?” Kent huffed and pet the back of Grace’s head as she sprung up little wolf ears and a snout to nuzzle into his arm. “Go on then.”
“Well, the reason I didn’t want to be here for my wolf cycle was because the wolf was in heat,” Nathan explained.
“No kidding.”
“Exactly. We didn’t want a repeat of what happened last year,” Nathan said.
“Two’s enough,” Kent said, sliding a hand between his chest and Gabriel’s curious nosing about.
“Yeah, well…” Nathan started, nervous all of a sudden.
“About that…” Dax began, but he also felt like he wanted Nathan to say it.
Kent narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “What’s wrong with you two? I can smell you sweatin’ over here. Spit it out.”
Nathan wrung his fingers together. “Kent.”
“I’m listenin’.”
“So, the thing is…” Nathan tilted his head towards Dax. “We’re both expecting.”
Kent grimaced. “Expectin’ what?”
“Pregnant,” Nathan said. “We’re both pregnant.”
“What?” Kent growled. “What the fuck do you mean? You’re pregnant again?”
“We both are,” Dax piped up. “Well not me ‘again’ in those words, but…” He pointed to his own and Nathan’s stomach. “One and one.”
Kent shook his head. “Uh uh. Nope. When we did whatever the fuck that was last time you were here, we didn’t do anything worth makin’ babies. Neither of you was on my dick. I was sober.”
“You know what?” Nathan got up and opened his arms. “The language in here isn’t appropriate for these two, so you can hand them over and I’ll put them down for a nap so we can continue this adult conversation.”
Kent huffed in Nathan’s face and just got up to go put them down himself. Nathan waited standing there frustrated until Kent came back and sat down again.
Kent slapped his own thighs. “Like I fucking said, I didn’t dick down no fella that night. Y'all can’t be pregnant.”
“You’re right that no one got pregnant that night,” Nathan stated. “But Dax and I chose to have a baby, the one I’m carrying. You were not involved in that. You got Dax pregnant the first weekend we came up.”
Kent looked at Nathan and then down to Dax still sitting across from him, who just waved sheepishly.
“No, I fucking didn’t,” Kent stated.
“Ah, well, you did,” Dax said. “Made me pretty sore actually…”
“Shut up.” Kent growled, sticking a finger in his face. “You’re not the one what gets pregnant ‘round here. I’d believe it if it were Nathan who went fuckin’ feral on my cock that night.”
“Ooh, let’s not say it like that,” Nathan said, still standing.
“Kids are fuckin’ asleep,” Kent said.
“Yeah, I’m just not a fan,” Nathan said.
“Maybe you’ll be a fan of this.” Kent gave both of them the middle finger. “Fuck this. Whatever you two’re on about, you need to get off the drugs.”
“Kent, we’re being serious here,” Nathan said, opening his hands. “I know this is hard to believe, but the night Dax had his little episode, it was because of a chemical he’d ingested that morning. It gave him the ability to get pregnant and made him behave the way he did.”
“Fuckin’ drugs,” Kent said shrugging.
“I mean, you’re right in that case,” Dax admitted. “But I didn’t take it knowingly. It was mistaken for protein powder.”
“You wouldn’t need protein powder if you just ate some fucking meat.” Kent looked at Nathan. “What’s your excuse?”
“We didn’t know Dax was pregnant but we came to an agreement that we wanted to have another child, just the two of us,” Nathan said. “So, I’m pregnant.”
Kent scowled at Dax. “You fucked the wolf?”
“I absolutely did not,” Dax said.
“Only the wolf can get pregnant.”
“You would know. You’re the one who fucked the wolf last year,” Dax said.
“As a bear!”
“That’s still fucking weird, buddy.”
Kent growled. “It is not! Animals are animals!”
“Two very different animals…”
“Boys. Calm down,” Nathan said. He sat back down beside Dax and took his hand. “The wolf was fertilised by in vitro fertilisation. Eggs were removed under anaesthesia—”
“Drugs,” Kent commented, to prove his point.
“Can you let me finish?” Nathan snapped.
Kent just shrugged. “You don’t make sense. My kid’s aren’t even a year old and you want to make another one just for you two, meanwhile limp dick’s supposedly up the creek with another one of mine?”
“In cruder terms, sure,” Dax said.
“We already discussed this. It’s just how it worked out. We didn’t know Dax was pregnant until after. At the end of the day, it is what it is,” Nathan said. “We’re both pregnant and that’s what’s going on.”
Kent sighed started walking away to the kitchen. “…Wasted my money on two packs of beers for shit all, I guess.”
Nathan sighed. “Now that that’s over with—”
“So, you can come live up here,” Kent stated, turning back to them with a freshly opened drink.
Both looked at him. “What?”
Kent shrugged and took a long sip of his beer. “If Nathan’s knocked up, there’s no risks, right? You don’t need to be down in that city for the wolf cycles. You can just stay up here.”
“First of all, we have jobs,” Nathan said.
“Not in the summer,” Kent stated. “And don’t lie to me and tell me you’re gonna go teach when you’re about one day to burstin’.”
Nathan scowled. “Second, our doctors are only in the city. We have to be nearby in case of emergencies.”
“That ghost fucker was a doctor, no?” Kent said. “He came up here once. He can figure it out again.”
“It’s not that simple,” Nathan said. “And Reid’s busy. He’s not going to be visiting. Third, you act like we like hanging out around you.”
“You love me,” Kent stated.
“I absolutely do not,” Nathan said. “Youloveme.”
Kent just shrugged again. “Makes no sense travellin’ so much. Should just stay here for the summer.”
“Oh, really?” Dax said, shook his head. “And you’re going to provide for us? With what? Deer meat and berries?”
“You’re having my kid,” Kent said. “Bears eat meat. Kid’s a bear.”
“We don’t know that yet,” Dax said.
“Either way, you can get whatever fuckin’ food you want in town. If you’re really so damn poor, I’ll fuckin’ buy it for you. I don’t give a shit.”
“With what money?” Nathan asked.
“With my money,” Kent said. “You got it, don’t you?”
They just blinked.
“What do you mean?” Nathan asked.
“My money,” Kent said, getting up slowly. “You should have it. I left a couple thousand at the cabin when y'all hunted me out.”
“The cabin?” Nathan processed it. “The shit hole in the woods?”
“Hey. That was my home,” Kent said. “And you’re saying you didn’t get the cash?”
“What cash?” Nathan asked, shaking his head. “You never said anything about any cash.”
“I left you that letter sayin’ to go watch my garden,” Kent said. “I figured you’d fucking find it!”
“I didn’t really go there much,” Nathan said. “Nari watched the garden for me. No one found any money.”
“That’s bullshit,” Kent said. “Call your Nari person. Get ‘em to give me my money. Fucker’s probably pocketed it…”
“Nari wouldn’t steal your money,” Dax said. “He doesn’t need it.”
“I don’t know this fucking Nari,” Kent said. “Call ‘im up right now.”
“I can’t, he’s in Europe,” Nathan said.
“Don’t tell me in this fancy new future of yours you can’t call other countries,” Kent said.
“I just mean he’s probably asleep at this time,” Nathan said, not remembering that Nari was very much a night walker.
“Call him now.”
Dax just showed them his phone and Nari’s face on the call screen with speakerphone on. “Give it a moment to connect.”
After a couple dial tones, an annoyed voice picked up. “…Dax?”
“Nari! Hey! Nathan has a question for you,” Dax said. “Do you have a minute?”
“Sure…”
Nathan sighed. “Hey, Nari. Remember when you used to watch Kent’s garden for me?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever go inside the cabin?”
“Sometimes. If the sun was really bad…”
“Did you ever find anything of particular value in there?”
“Mm… Yeah, I guess. There was some money in like a box…”
“Oh good. Did you—”
“Yeah, something like 200k.”
Nathan blinked and then looked over at Kent in shock. “Two hundred thousand dollars?”
“Yeah, approximately,” Nari said. “In a box. Why?”
“D-Do you have it?” Nathan asked.
“Yeah. I figured I’d keep it safer than some trashy cave…”
“Um, and you didn’t think to tell me about it?”
“Honestly, I sort of just forgot about it,” Nari asked. “Why? Do you want it?”
“Uh, yeah! I’m with Kent right now, and he wants his money,” Nathan said.
“Okay. Well it’s in a savings account. Do you want me to wire it? I might have to be in Canada though…”
“Can you just send me a screenshot? We can figure out the transfer later.”
“Alright.”
“Okay. Um, thanks Nari.”
“No problem. I will be hanging up now.”
“Okay, bye!”
Nari hung up and Nathan took a breath.
“How do you have that much money?” Nathan asked, staring at Kent.
“I saved for twenty years,” Kent said.
“How did you make ten thousand dollars a year eating animals in the ravine?” Nathan asked.
“Big gun back home was always trying to buy my father’s property. Never wanted to sell it, but the farm wasn’t profiting. When I had to run, I needed some money, so I sold. When I got here, I also sold furs from the meat I ate and some furniture I made,” Kent said. “Didn’t need to buy food, so I just saved it for tools and things…”
“Has Nari sent the photo?” Dax asked.
Nathan checked his phone and then showed Dax the screen where it showed a screenshot for a bank account with a balance of $263’050.
“I wanted you to find it and put that towards my kids if I died,” Kent stated.
“Kent, that’s a lot of fucking money,” Nathan said. “You should’ve been clearer in your letter if you wanted me to find that.”
“I imagine you don’t have a bank account, do you?” Dax asked.
“Fuck no.”
Dax rubbed Nathan’s shoulder. “What do we do? Cash out as soon as possible so Kent can have his money?”
“Keep it,” Kent said.
“What?” Nathan asked. “Kent, it’s your money.”
“I gave it to ya to keep safe and to support my kids,” Kent said. “Plus, I never felt good about selling that farm for so little… Feels like dirty money.”
“I’m sure you want some cash though,” Dax said. “Let’s be honest.”
Kent shrugged. “Okay… 10k’ll do me fine.”
“10k. Still leaves us with a quarter of a million dollars…” Nathan said, just staring at the screenshot. “Are you sure you don’t want more? This makes me feel weird…”
“Listen. I saved that cash expectin’ I’d need to use it to leave the country or something if the feds found me,” Kent said. “But my kids are more important now. I can make my own money. I always have.”
Nathan looked to Dax who just shrugged. “We were worried about our finances with two more on the way and parental leave…”
“Yeah, you need it more than me,” Kent said.
“Well…” Nathan rubbed the back of his neck. “This is ridiculously generous, coming from you… But, if you’re giving me this money for the kids, then… We can keep it in the savings account for them. I won’t touch it for myself.”
Kent nodded. “Fine by me.”
“Well, we could just make it 250k even, take out the extra,” Dax suggested. “You know, just for now…”
“Listen,” Kent said placing his hands on a shoulder each. “I’m askin’ you to stay here with me for some time. Just so I can get the chance to be there for someone havin’ my kids. I never could before. Not the first time. Not the last time.”
Dax looked to Nathan and Nathan sighed.
“Kent… You understand we plan to raise all these kids, and we’re not going to discriminate with ‘this kid is mine, that one’s yours’, none of that,” Nathan said. “So, if you’re serious about being a part of all this, you need to commit to all the kids, not just your blood. Can you do that?”
Kent looked Dax and Nathan each up and down, pausing for a moment on Nathan’s midsection before looking him right in the eyes. “I can do that. Kid of yours is a kid of mine.”
Nathan nodded smiling fondly. “Good.”
Kent tilted his head to Dax. “Now if celery stick goes off and has someone else’s kids, that’s not my problem.”
Dax shook his head. “That won’t be a problem.”
Nathan stepped between them and took Kent’s shoulder. “Kent. I’m very serious about this. You’re entering a relationship with both of us. If you genuinely don’t like Dax, you need to say so right now, because the name calling is unacceptable. Insulting his dietary choices is also unacceptable.”
Kent looked a bit taken aback, and he put a hand through his hair. “I… Listen, I figure you understand…”
“Nathan, it’s fine…” Dax said, placing his hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder.
“No. I get that you’re from another time, Kent, but Dax and I established a relationship on communication,” Nathan said. “That means communicating our feelings. I know you haven’t known us very long, but you’ve managed to communicate your feelings about me to me in your own way. I need you to do the same for Dax. If you don’t want to be in a relationship with him, then there’s no relationship to be had with us beyond co-parenting.”
Kent shook his head. “I like Dax, alright? I just… This three in one situation… I’m not used to that… People didn’t do that ‘round where I’m from.”
“I’m sure they did, they just never had a reason to tell you about it,” Nathan stated. He patted Kent’s cheek. “Anyway, that’s good enough for me, but it’s Dax’s opinion that matters.”
Dax patted Kent’s shoulder. “I like you too, bear boy.”
Kent just turned away. “Is this over? Can I go check on the twins?”
“Be my guest,” Nathan said. “We’ll just put our stuff in the loft.”
“The loft?” Kent asked.
Nathan nodded. “Yeah. It’s a bit stiff so we brought some blankets—”
Dax nudged his arm. “I think he expects us to sleep in his bed.”
Kent flushed red. “No, I—You can sleep wherever you fucking want!”
Nathan grinned. “Aw, I didn’t think you’d warm up that quickly.”
“I’m not! I just, you did last time, so I figured you might want to this time…”
“We slept in your room as a result of other activities that night,” Nathan said. “But if you want it to be the norm, it’s fine, it’s big enough for now. Maybe not when we’re further along…”
“I’m sure 250k can help get a bigger bed…” Dax suggested.
Kent shook his head. “Do what you want to!” He then stormed off to go check on the twins, leaving the couple amused.
“He still needs time,” Nathan said, going to sit back down.
“He may be older, but he’s still just a baby gay,” Dax concurred joining him.
“Baby bi,” Nathan reminded. “Let’s not erase his past.”
“Baby Sbice,” Dax joked.
“What does that make us?” Nathan asked.
“Hm…” Dax paused to think. “Got it. Sgayry Spice and Sportop Spice.”
“One, racist. And two, you are not a top,” Nathan said.
“I went with Scary because you’re a werewolf…”
“Wow, okay. Insensitive. You’re still not a top.”
“I can be… And no Spice Girl works with vers or switch.”
“Yeah…”

What We Will Do

(Story Post)

Dax found Nathan back in their room with the lights off, just nursing his twins. Dax wasn’t even sure he was awake until he sat down beside him.
“Dax…” Nathan whispered. “I’m sorry I reacted that way.”
“It’s alright,” Dax said, leaning back against the headboard. “You were overwhelmed. We were both overwhelmed.”

“I know, but I feel like you think I’m not supportive of you…” Nathan said.
“No, I know…” Dax sighed. “But listen, my night with Kent was unexpected, so I’m considering ending—”
“No, Dax. I don’t want that,” Nathan said quickly, looking at his partner sincerely. “I mean, if you want to go through with this, then we’ll go through with it together.”
Dax paused for a moment. “To be clear, when you say ‘go through with this’, you mean…”
“I mean, have both our children,” Nathan elaborated. “I know you’re excited to have a baby…”
“Right, but I’d still be having one with you even if I did abort…” Dax reminded.
Nathan shook his head. “Yes, but you want to carry a baby. I can tell the idea of experiencing that is very special to you and you might never get another chance. Don’t let my uneasiness make that decision for you. I want you to be happy.”
Dax smiled and set his head back on the pillow. “I’ll admit, the idea of it all is so…it’s so thrilling. I am scared too, but it feels magical.”
Nathan sighed, smiling. “Yeah. Say that again when you’re nearly due.”
Dax chuckled. “…So you’re going to be okay?”
“Yeah…” Nathan rubbed the twins back. “I’m still… I still feel really stressed out. You know, four children so close together. It’s really a lot. And with both of us pregnant, we might have a hard time supporting each other… I never really planned to start a family this way.”
“Of course,” Dax said. “I don’t think either of us could’ve imagined it.”
“…Yeah, I figured I’d find someone I really liked, live with them a few years,” Nathan imagined. “Get married, adopt siblings I think… You know, the usual way for guys like us.”
“Well, guys like that aren’t really like us, are they?” Dax said. “Maybe this is really the way for guys actually like us.”
“Maybe so…” Nathan said.
“And it’s not too late for some of that stuff to happen,” Dax said. “Just not in that order.”
Nathan met Dax’s hand on Gabriel’s back and intertwined their fingers. “…You know, we have to talk to that guy.”
Dax blinked. “Hm?”
“Kent.”
“Yeah… Well, after your doctor’s appointment about the IVF. Just to be sure.”
“Yeah, I know.” Nathan sighed, starting frown. “What do you we want with Kent, though?”
“In what way?”
“Is it just, you know, sexual? Or do we want a romantic relationship?”
Dax breathed out of his nose. “…I will go with what you want.”
Nathan groaned. “Dax, come on… This is about both of us. All three of us.”
“I’m serious,” Dax said. “I can go either way, but whatever you want with that, I want it to. If you want us to pursue a romantic relationship with Kent, and he does too, then I am with you. If not, then not.”
“I mean, he’ll still be the father of several of our children,” Nathan said. “So, he has to be involved…”
“Right but, that’s just co-parenting. If it doesn’t need to be romantic, it doesn’t need to be romantic. But if you want it, then we want it.”
Nathan grimaced. “…Well, I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to decide right now,” Dax said. “We can talk to Kent, and we’ll see how we feel. That isn’t a decision we need to make right now. Yeah?”
“Yeah… Yeah, okay.”
“Okay.”
Dax let go of Nathan’s hand and propped himself up on his elbow. “Looks like the twins are out… Would you like me to put them to bed?”
Nathan nodded. “Please… They’re getting so heavy, I can hardly breathe with them on my chest like this.”
“Alright.” Dax smiled as his lifted each babe one at a time and placed them in their cribs. Gabriel fussed a little but was out cold again as soon as he was snug in his bed.
Dax got back in bed and laid down on his back. Nathan snuggled up against his chest and placed a hand on his partner’s stomach. He slipped his hand up under Dax’s shirt and stroked his lower abdomen gently.
“…It’s actually already kinda noticeable, huh,” Nathan said. “Just a little tight.”
“Yeah… When Reid showed me the ultrasound image, the baby already seemed very visible,” Dax said. “This drug really makes things go fast. Only twenty weeks of this.”
“Mmhm… Jeffrey only gets ten weeks because of his fairy genetics, apparently…” Nathan recalled.
“Must put a lot of stress on the body,” Dax imagined. “Poor thing.”
“Well, he knew what he was getting into this time,” Nathan said.
“This is true…” Dax sighed. “But I do hope everything goes well. I feel like it needs to go well for those two.”
“Well, I’d say ‘it’ll all be fine’ if Dr Aias was still head of the medical team…”
“I’m sure Reid can handle it,” Dax assured. “They wouldn’t leave him in charge if he couldn’t.”
“They don’t have any other choice,” Nathan stated. “I can’t imagine there’s many more doctors that are even a quarter as skilled as Dr Aias…”
“Well, Reid meets the requirements and that’s what we can put our faith in,” Dax reminded. “Are you really going to be upset with him forever?”
“We’ll see…” Nathan huffed.
“He’s our friend, Nathan,” Dax said. “You know he cares about you.”
Nathan just closed his eyes. “Shh… I’m taking a nap.”
Dax let out a sigh. “Alright… I suppose I could go for one too.”
“Yeah, nap time for all.”
“Should I set an alarm, or…?”
“Babies. Babies are the alarm.”
“Ah, right.”

What Will We Do

(Story Post)

As soon as Nathan was informed, he wanted to march right back up into the medical clinic to give Reid a piece of his mind, but Dax insisted that they sleep on it all first before they say anything they regret.
“Reid wasn’t the one who tested me,” Dax as they spoke at the lunch table. “He was just double checking.”
“He knew,” Nathan said. “You said he suspected you were pregnant.”
“Yeah, today when I came in,” Dax said. “He noticed my weight gain. That’s all.”
“No, he knew,” Nathan said. “I bet you he knew and still went through with the IVF.”
“Well… Like he said. Maybe it didn’t take?” Dax offered.

Nathan shook his head. “Some reason, I doubt it… Remember what Yori said at the wedding? He was certain I was pregnant. He’s a dog spirit, and I think dogs can smell that kind of thing…”
“Maybe he was smelling me,” Dax said. “Oh god, I drank so much that night…”
“No point worrying about that now…” Nathan sighed. “And I still have a feeling he meant me.”
“Then he would’ve smelled us both,” Dax said. “Why wouldn’t he mention me?”
“Yori is very selective with his words,” Nathan said. “He would’ve only brought you up if he wanted to start drama.”
“Okay. So… Say we’re both pregnant,” Dax said. “What then?”
Nathan just frowned, and looked down silently.
Dax rubbed his back. “What do you want us to do?”
Nathan shook his head. “What do you want to do?”
“I… Well, I asked you first,” Dax said.
Nathan looked away. “I don’t want to say.”
“What if we both say it at the same time?”
“That’s childish…”
“No judgment.”
Nathan frowned and just shook his head. “I feel like… I’d rather we go through my pregnancy…”
Dax looked at him. “…And not mine?”
Nathan nodded. “If I’m pregnant, the baby is both of ours…”
“As opposed to mine which is just mine,” Dax said. “And Kent’s…”
Nathan frowned. “What would you want?”
Dax pursed his lips. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter!” Nathan said. “I just told you! You tell me. Which would you want to keep?”
“Both.”
“What?”
“I’d want both children,” Dax said.
Nathan shook his head and chuckled, tears forming. “Of course you’d want both… They’re both yours.”
Dax shook his head. “I don’t see it like that. You know I don’t. This is just the opportunity that presented itself.”
“Two more kids, Dax?” Nathan grimaced. “We can’t have two more kids, Dax. I agreed to one.”
Dax frowned and shook his head. He placed his hand on his own stomach tenderly. “I don’t want to end this… I already cried for this baby once, Nathan.”
Nathan rubbed his forehead. “…So I’m just the bad guy, then.”
“No.” Dax took Nathan’s hand. “I said no judgment. I wanted to know how you felt.” He squeezed the hand gently. “And really, even if you agreed to one, there’s always a chance of twins… And then what would you do?”
Nathan leaned against the table. “…How are we supposed to afford four kids, Dax? If we’re both pregnant, we’ll both have to be on leave, and we can’t depend on Kent for literally anything…”
“We still don’t know if you’re pregnant,” Dax reminded. “There’s still a chance there’s just mine.”
“But if I am pregnant, you want both…” Nathan reiterated with a sigh.
Dax pursed his lips. “Well, if you don’t want both…”
“I won’t have an abortion, Dax,” Nathan said. “We already spent all this time doing the IVF. I’m not wasting that.”
“Okay, okay. So, that’s the end,” Dax said. “There’s only one option left.”
Nathan shook his head. “No, this is too much…” He stood up. “I need to… I need to take a walk or something. I’m freaking out.”
Dax frowned but nodded. “Okay… Are you done eating or should I save this for you?”
“I don’t think I could eat anything ever again, the way I feel right now,” Nathan said backing up. “I need a moment.”
“Alright, I’ll meet you back in the room then,” Dax suggested.
“Yeah…” Nathan just left quickly.
Dax sighed, realising he too wouldn’t be able to finish his meal. He wasn’t sure what to do because he wanted to give Nathan his space but he was also just very worried about the whole situation.
He finally decided to pack up their lunches. Even if neither of them were hungry now, it was a good lunch worth saving for later, so he got up and went to ask for a couple boxes.
When he got up to the kitchen window, he was surprised to find none other than their vice principal collecting dishes from the dirty bin.
“Pierce?” Dax said to get his attention.
“Hm?” Pierce turned around and grinned. “Oh, hey! Dax, good afternoon!”
“Uh, yeah. So you work here too?” Dax asked.
“I volunteer,” Pierce said, picking up a bin of dirty dishes. “More so now that it’s summer.”
“Right, actually now I think I remember Nathan mentioning that,” Dax said. “I just haven’t caught you ‘til now.”
“Yep! Gimme a second…” Pierce walked the bin to the back of the kitchen by the dishwasher and came back to the window. “So, what’s up with you? You look, hm…tired?”
“Emotionally, yeah…” Dax said. “But it’s nothing.”
“Are you sure? If you want to talk about it, I’m off in a minute,” Pierce said.
“Don’t you have those dishes?”
“Oh, I’m not dishwasher today, I’m just bringing them in,” Pierce said. “We have a new kid dishwashing today.”
“Okay… Um, actually could we talk?” Dax asked.
“Of course!” Pierce picked up the other bin of dishes. “Go sit down. I’ll come out in a minute.”
“Alright.”
Dax went and sat back down at his table and waited for Pierce to come out. He realised then that he hadn’t asked for boxes, but he could still ask after.
After about two minutes, Pierce came out undoing his apron and throwing it over his shoulder. “Daxy, Daxy, Daxy-boy. What’s going on, my friend?”
Dax sighed and sat on his hands. “If I had to take leave next school year, do you think I should get a class but then go on leave after, or should and can I do it the whole year?”
Pierce blinked as he sat down beside Dax. “Leave for what?”
“Well, I'm…” Dax rubbed his neck. “I’m pregnant.”
All four of Pierces eyes opened wide. “No way! Congratulations!”
Dax had frankly forgotten about Pierce’s other eyes and was a little shocked. “Oh, um. Thank you? But uh—”
“With Nathan, right?” Pierce asked. “Oh, you two are so perfect for each other!”
“Thanks, but, euh…” Dax shook his head. “I think we just had a fight. I don’t know.”
“Aw, now… Every healthy relationship disagrees sometimes,” Pierce said. “What was it about?”
“Honestly, I don’t really want to talk about it anymore,” Dax said. “We’re just not sure we’re ready for all this…”
“Well, if you’re pregnant, then you needn’t worry about school,” Pierce said. “I believe, and I can clear it up with Ms Liu later, but if you need to take the next year off, you should still be covered under our maternity and parental leave coverage.”
“You think so?” Dax scratched the back of his head. “What if we both need to be off? You had to cover for us for a lot last year…”
“I don’t think you have anything to be worried about. Our school is growing and we’ll have more teachers this fall,” Pierce said. “Let us worry about that. You can focus on yourselves and baby.”
Dax nodded. “Alright… Thank you.”
Pierce slapped his back. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. But, you know, if you want to talk about anything, you can talk to me.”
Dax smiled. “Thanks…”
“You know, if you have free time, we should get some friends together,” Pierce said. “You’re friends with Nari and Diederich, right? We should all hang out.”
“We should, although Nari and Diederich are in Europe for the summer.”
“Oh! Shoot, alright… Well there’s Samara and some other people…” Pierce rubbed his chin. “Well, we’ll figure it out.”
Dax nodded. “On a slightly different topic… Do you have a partner?”
“Partner? Oh no,” Pierce said. “Just a single Pringle here. I haven’t had such luck.”
“Ah, well, I was going to say we could double date, but I guess we’ll have to figure something else out,” Dax said. “I probably should go back to our room though…”
“Of course.”  Pierce got up. “Do you want some takeaway boxes for your food?”
“Actually, that’s what I originally got up to ask for.”
“Say no more, I’ll get you those boxes,” Pierce said. But then he slammed a hand down on the table and looked Dax in the eyes. “But first, listen. You and Nathan are brilliant. You will work through this and I promise you, you’re worries will turn into excitement for your little one. I’ve already seen it happen.”
Dax paused. “You mean, like… You can see the future? Or…”
“I mean, I saw it when Nathan had those twins,” Pierce explained. “Once you two got together, you wouldn’t stop talking about him in the staff room and you were so scared for him and those twins, but once they were born, I’d never seen you so excited. You really can relax.”
Dax smiled and took a deep breath. “Thank you…”
Pierce patted his arm and grinned. “Let me get those boxes. You sit tight.”
Dax nodded. “I’ll be right here.”

The Day

(Story Post)

The sun had just set as the first guests arrived at the house. Lino put himself in charge of entertainment, so he greeted each guest as they came in. They just wanted to keep it mainly family and a few friends, just a little gathering and hangout, and food would be potluck.

Mr and Mrs Mannan arrived first, Lino and Dante’s parents, and they brought samosas, onion bhaji, chicken tikka, a baked ziti, and a bottle of Franciacorta. Dante had asked them ahead of time to keep it simple, they weren’t feeding a hundred people, but they insisted this was the bare minimum (as well as several desserts), and frankly there were several other dishes they wanted to bring but had cut out.
Yori invited Nathan and Dax and they brought homemade cookies and blueberry bannock. As soon as they arrived, the triplets cornered Dax and told him how much they’d missed him as their teacher. He apologised and agreed to play with them for a while in the kid’s space of the party. With the twins at Korsgaard’s house for the evening, Nathan went and mingled with the adults, generally sticking around Yori as he often did during group. The dog spirit’s calm yet somewhat chaotic personality made conversations fun and interesting, and frankly he felt very grateful to be invited at all to such an event.
Sydryn showed up shortly after the couple bearing a French charcuterie platter and strawberry cheese tarts. They had initially considered declining the invitation because they didn’t enjoy ‘mingling’ and ‘small talk’, plus being the prettiest one in any room was exhausting… Originally, Syd had in fact invited Dr. Ix since they thought the Yulinian would enjoy the chance to observe a human ritual for research purposes, however Ix was quick to decline. But Köbi was a key guest and wanted Syd to go with them, so he reminded them that otherwise they were stuck at home with Seranan every night, so this would be a nice change for once. Sydryn folded and went as Köbi’s plus one.
Dusty had also hesitated to RSVP, however Lino had invited him as a friend. Not to mention, it was a family event and Grey was family, so the option was either to go with him, or drop him off and wait at home worried about how Grey was doing with so many people around. He wasn’t much of a cook himself since he didn’t really need to eat food, so he brought a pinot noir. He stuck around Lino and Vi for the night, occasionally checking on the children when they hung out in the bedroom.
Fay arrived a little later than he planned. The original plan was for he and Dari to attend, but Dari decided rather last minute that he didn’t want to go because it was too many people he didn’t really know, but he insisted Fay still go so he could tell him about it. Not to mention, he didn’t feel like it was fair to Camilo to babysit now that he had his own child to worry about. Fay was pretty sure Camilo didn’t mind, but he called and cancelled with him anyway and went over to the party on his own. He also kept Dusty company and mused over his and Lino’s wilder days before they both became parents. He brought over his favourite seafood paella, knowing full well there likely wouldn’t be a lot of pescatarian dishes for himself and Vi coming in from guests.
Last to arrive was Lino and Dante’s sister, Siena. She apologised a lot because she’d flown in from university the day before and had every intention of being on time, but her high school friends had insisted on a day out and they kept her out longer than she’d planned. Their mother gave her a few scolding words, but truly everything was meant to be as casual as possible and as long as everyone was there, that’s all that mattered.
There was no schedule, everyone could eat when they wanted to, chit chat, play some games. That night everyone found out that Vi was absolutely terrible at charades, and Köbi was a whiz at Texas Hold ‘Em. While Sydryn was unbeatable at Scrabble, Fay was abysmal at it because he kept forgetting they all had to be English words. The kids entertained themselves for the most part with snacks and LEGO in the triplets’ room, but they did join the adults occasionally for more family oriented group games.
Around 9pm that night, everyone was still enjoying themselves and socialising, but Ruben, Dante, & Yori excused themselves to go outside to the backyard. The adults in the room paused, giving them their attention, but the three just smiled to them all and said they’d be right back. Lino nodded to his brother and asked everyone left to get their phones out for some Jackbox games, and that kept everyone well occupied for the time being while his brother and his partners were out.
In the back, it was dark out, but the yard was lit dimly by fairy lights wrapped around an arch. Köbi snuck out a little earlier to prepare and met them with a warm smile as they joined him. Dante adjusted Ruben’s bow tie. Yori took both their hands.
When they returned to the party just a few minutes later, Vi nudged Lino to alert him.
Lino grinned and went to meet them at the back door more privately. “Did you do it?”
Yori proudly held out his partner’s hands, showing off the simple but elegant wedding bands on all of their ring fingers, two per person.
Ruben was in tears but he was trying desperately to maintain his composure. “We did.”
Dante slapped a hand on the back of Lino’s neck and gripped it teasingly. “Now, it’s your turn.”
“Ugh, shut up… This is your day.” Lino chuckled. “Yulinians don’t believe in it, anyway.”
“But do you?” Dante asked, patting his back.
“Not really, no,” Lino admitted. “But, anyway, this isn’t about me. Come on. Let’s celebrate!”
Dante squeezed Ruben’s hand as Lino ran back to the living room to get everyone’s attention.
“Hey! Everyone shut up!” Lino said to an already quiet and waiting group. “They’re married!”
The room erupted into applause. Köbi slipped past them beaming after his first ever officiation, going to find Syd hiding in the kitchen with Dusty so he could tell them all about it. Mr and Mrs Mannan got up to give their son and sons-in-law hugs. Siena got her chance too just after them, making sure to give her eldest brother a good squeeze.
“Never thought you had it in you,” Siena said messing with his hair.
“Honestly, same… I never thought I’d get married,” Dante admitted.
“And suddenly you have two husbands,” Siena teased. “0 to 100 really quick.”
“I wouldn’t say raising our kids together for the last 6 and a half years is quick…”
Siena just shrugged. “Well, I’m really proud of you.”
“Little sisters don’t get to say that. You sound like ma.”
“That is because I made her!” his mother said, wedging herself between them for another hug. “Mimmo, I am so so proud. My biggest boy is married! Mio passerotto… I am going to cry…”
“Ahhh, don’t cry, Mama…” Dante said. “Relax… Let’s go sit down.”
“Okay, okay…”
As Dante guide his mother back to her seat, his father chose to corner Ruben. “So, your parents couldn’t be here, huh?”
“No. They couldn’t make it,” Ruben said.
“That’s a shame. I was looking forward to meeting them,” his now father-in-law said, patting his arm.
“Trust me, you don’t want to meet the de Vrieses… Miserable people,” Ruben stated. “My father especially.”
“But it’s your wedding day, son,” Mr Mannan said. “Something any parent wants to be involved in. Even if they are just sitting inside while you have a little secret wedding in the back.”
“Yeah, none of us are big on huge…traditional events. But listen, Mr Mannan—”
“Harshveer, please,” his father-in-law said. Then he nudged his arm. “Or Harsh… Or Dad, eh?”
Ruben smiled. “Harsh… My parents cut themselves out of my life. They don’t even know I’m gay, let alone that I have a family. I’m happier without them in my life.”
“Well, son… You know, as a parent, it’s a little hard to hear,” Harshveer said, rubbing Ruben’s back. “I would be heartbroken were my children to ever think of me that way.”
“Sure, but you and Mrs Mannan are very lovely people and your kids wouldn’t have any reason to say what I’m saying. And I’m very happy to have you in our family. You know, I’m a parent too. I understand. I would be devasted to hear the same from my kids. But I strive to be the kind of parents you are to my children, so they may never deal with what I went through with my folks…”
His father-in-law smiled and nodded slowly. “I appreciate that… And as far as I see, you’re a good father. You should be proud.”
“Thank you…”
In the opposite corner of the room, Yori had plunked himself down on the couch between Nathan and Dax, eager to show off his wedding rings.
“I’ve decided the left is for Ruben and the right is for Dante,” he was saying. “Or maybe the opposite… No, that’s right.”
“Six rings must have been expensive,” Dax commented, looking at the wedding band on Yori’s left hand.
“I didn’t really care if we got them, but Ruben and Dante insisted,” Yori said. “They wanted to make sure we were all equally involved in this wedding, even if it really is just them getting married.”
“What do you mean, just them?” Nathan asked. “You’re not married to them?”
“Well, I am for what it’s worth,” Yori said. “That’s what the rings are for. But I’m just a spirit.”
Dante came over when he overheard. “Yori means, he can’t be married on paper,” Dante said. “Because he doesn’t really have a legal identity… Not to mention, it is illegal to be married to more than one spouse in Canada.”
“Oh, true…” Nathan said. He rubbed his forehead. “I just don’t know how you manage to keep things…you know, balanced between the three of you.”
“Well, it’s not really a matter of balance,” Yori said. “My relationship to Dante is different from his relationship to Ruben which is different from Ruben’s relationship with me. They’re just different.”
“Right, and it was Yori’s idea anyway that Ruben and I should get married,” Dante said. “Can’t really be worried about him when it’s his idea.”
“Whydidyou want them to get married?” Dax asked.
Nathan elbowed him. “Dax! Kinda rude? We’re literally at their wedding.”
“I’m just curious!” Dax said.
“It’s fine,” Yori said. “And, I wanted to because I knew Ruben wanted to but was worried about me.”
“So, Ruben’s the hopeless romantic in the relationship,” Dax deduced. “I see.”
“Yeah, that’s about right,” Dante admitted. “I’m not really the romantic type… And Yori’s not really the serious type.”
Yori just nodded in agreement, beaming. “I don’t need romance, just cake. And a wedding is a good time to get cake, so I’ve heard.”
Dante rolled his eyes. “You’ll get your cake. We’ll pull it out and cut it after the kids go to bed so they aren’t wired all night.”
“What, they don’t get any cake?” Dax pouted. “At their own parent’s wedding?”
“They’ll have some tomorrow,” Dante said. “Yori’s kids are little cake goblins like him though, so if we want any cake, we have to keep it from them.”
“I’m not a goblin, I’m a spirit,” Yori corrected.
“I know. It was a joke,” Dante said. “And anyway, they really enjoyed the bannock you two brought.”
Dax lit up. “Thank you! It was my first time trying to make it, and I’m really happy how it turned out.”
“Yeah, turned out perfect, love it,” Dante said patting his back.
“Yori…” Nathan started. “You’re due in, what, a week or two?”
“Yep. Two and a half weeks,” Yori said, proudly rubbing his stomach.
“Must be excited,” Dax said. “Four kids, though! Incredible.”
“Five kids,” Yori said.
“Five?” Dax questioned. “I only know the triplets…”
“He means’s Grey,” Dante said. “Grey’s my son with Dusty. You may have seen them, although I think they’ve been upstairs most of the time…”
“I don’t remember seeing any children older than the triplets,” Dax said, to which Nathan gave him another elbow to the side. “What?”
“You’re so nosy…” Nathan said. “It’s their wedding day.”
“It’s alright,” Dante said, waving it off with a smile. “But you may have guessed, Grey’s the little one. My eyes. It’s not what you think, but it’s a bit complicated.”
“Demons have their own way of reproducing,” Yori said. “Dante and Dusty never had sex.”
“Demons?” Dax asked.
“Yeah, Dusty. Don’t worry about it,” Nathan said.
“I’m not worried about it,” Dax assured. “But my interest has been piqued.”
“Leave it alone,” Nathan insisted. “Anyway… Yori, you must be excited for the little one on the way.”
Yori nodded happily, rubbing the side of his stomach. “I miss having a little baby… They get older and they go to school and I have no one home with me. I just want another little baby to snuggle with and care for. It’s the best stage.”
“You know, they’ll just get older too,” Dax commented.
“I know… But I want to feel it again, even just for a little bit,” Yori said. “Before the triplets, I never even thought I could raise a baby… My job was to just make them and send them away, but when Dante and Ruben said they wanted to raise them with me, it was… It was all very exciting and new.”
“By send them away…” Dax inquired.
“He means he was going to deliver them to the spirit world where he came from to grow and be spirits like him,” Dante said. “But they were our children and we wanted them.”
“I mean, yeah… Of course,” Dax said.
“Listen, back then, I will admit, we didn’t know a substantial amount about each other,” Dante said. “Ruben’s relationship with Yori had forced him out of the closet which was very uncomfortable for him, and there was a lot of misconceptions surrounding the pregnancy… Not to mention, misbehaviour on my part… Honestly, I don’t know how it all worked out the way it did, but here we are. At our wedding.”
Ruben managed to pull himself out of a deep conversation with Dante’s father so he could join them and sat down in Dante’s lap.
“What’s up, big guy?” Dante said, a bit winded under the 6’5” man’s weight. “Did my Dad talk your ear off?”
“Naw, he’s cool.” He patted his lap. “Yori.”
Yori perked up. “Oh?”
Dante started to try to push Ruben off. “Oh no, no…”
Yori got up much quicker than a full-term pregnancy should have allowed and then plopped himself back down in Ruben’s lap, making Dante groan in pain.
“Geez, come on guys… Really?” Dante gasped.
“What? Your husbands want to be close to you,” Ruben said.
“Oh, is that it, huh?” Dante sighed. “At least get your bony butt off my thigh…”
“It’s not bony…” Ruben shifted his weight so his rear rested between Dante’s legs. “Better?”
“Oh my god, yeah. So much better.” Dante kissed Ruben’s cheek and then down to Yori’s belly. “How did I manage to marry such handsome men?”
Ruben blushed just looked down to Yori. “…I love you both so much.”
“I love you too,” Dante said, smiling. “I’d love you more if my legs weren’t numb…”
“Too bad,” Ruben said. “Yori dozed off.”
“So cute…” Dax mused, taking the chance to slide closer to Nathan now that Yori had vacated the spot between them. “Nathan, would you like to sit in my lap?”
“Naw, that’s okay…”
“Can I sit in your lap, then?”
“Haha, no.”
Dax pouted. “You’re no fun.”
Nathan sighed. “Well, you can get me a drink and I’ll think about it.”
Dax shook his head. “You shouldn’t be drinking, remember?”
“You can’t drink?” Dante asked. “Why? Meds or something?”
Yori popped up from his nap like trodden rake. “Nathan’s pregnant.”
Nathan flushed. “Dax…”
“No, well, we’re not sure yet,” Dax said. “But we’re trying.”
“Nathan’s definitely pregnant,” Yori said. “I can smell it.”
“Oh wow!” Dante said. “Congrats, you two!”
“Please, it’s your day,” Nathan insisted. “This isn’t about us…”
Dante waved a hand. “It’s cool.”
“But if you want us to leave it alone, we will,” Ruben said. “We understand not wanting to talk about it until it’s a sure thing.”
“It is a sure thing,” Yori stated. “I’m not wrong.”
“No one says you are, Yori,” Dante said. “But we have to respect their privacy. The whole point we had our wedding so privately was because we wanted to do in a comfortable and intimate way. Pregnancy can be the same way.”
Yori sighed. “Okay…”
From across the room, dinging rang out as Lino tapped a champagne flute with a knife. “Alright, everyone shut the fuck up!”
“Lino, language!”
“Sorry, Mama,” Lino sighed. “Anyway, I wanna do my best man speech real quick so we can move on to putting the kids to bed and getting my brother fucking wasted!”
“Lino!”
“I swear, Mama! I’m an adult!”
“We don’t have a best man, Lino,” Dante said. “There’s no wedding party.”
“Well, I’ve appointed myself best man and I wrote a speech and you’re gonna hear it,” Lino said.
“Alright, Yori, up…” Ruben said, patting his husband’s shoulder.
Yori whined. “Whyyyy?”
“Because toasts need drinks and I should grab some for us and our guests,” Ruben said, lifting him off him. “Nathan, we have some ginger ale for Yori and the kids if that works for you too.”
“Oh, um, sure.”
“You can stay sitting, Slenderman,” Lino said. “Vi’s gonna pass around some drinks. Vi!” Lino called into the kitchen. “Ginger ale for Nathan too!”
“Understood!” Vi called back.
Yori happily jumped back into Ruben’s lap and everyone waited patiently as Vi came around with their drinks. Fay and Dusty ushered the kids into the room to listen as well and everyone settled down to listen.
“I remember the day I first met Dante…” Lino started.
“No, you don’t,” Dante interrupted. “You were literally ten minutes old.”
“Well, I remember you were always a smartass. Anyway… I remember the day I first met Ruben. Piece of work that guy, let me tell you. But I knew. I KNEW immediately he was deeeeep in the closet. Like so deep, my brother would have to go all the way into Narnia and defeat the White Witch to pull him out. But, apparently all it took was supernatural intervention! In drops a dog named Yori. I remember the day I first met Yori…”

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

Film still with stop motion animation

Directed by Nathan H. Juran (1907 - 2002), animated and produced by Ray Harryhausen (1920 - 2013)

Part II of my posts in honour of Ray Harryhausen. RIP

Last night with the munchkins before they go back to their families. Finally got a pic of the faces. So much preciousness. And poops. But mostly preciousness. #Franklin #Nathan #Oscar #Rocco

One photo closer to trying to get a pic of all their faces!! #halfwaythere #basicallyimpossible #andyoucantevenseeOscar #Itried #doggieseverywhere #dogsofinstagram #Nathan #Franklin #Oscar #Rocco

I love them so much. ❤️ #Nathan #Rocco #Franklin #Oscar