“Your table sir.” he said in the best English accent he could do, having heard it only once on a TV broadcast they picked up a couple of years ago.
Lance served a large portion of stew onto JC’s plate and broke off a chunk of flat bread JC had baked earlier in the day. Chris poured a large glass of wine for everyone and they all took their seats.
Justin stood up and lifted his glass “A toast. To JC, you are an amazing man and we are grateful to you everyday, for the work you do and the meals you provide and to say we love you so very, very much.”
Lance and Chris jumped to their feet and raised their own glasses. “To JC.”
The brunette blushed and lowered his thick lashes as he was cheered.
“Drink up Jace. There’s plenty more where that came from.” Chris said encouragingly. “And you are the only one who’s allowed to drink.”
“Lance rolled his eyes. “That’s all he’s done for the past 8 months complain I won’t let him drink alcohol.”
Justin chuckled “and that his ankles were swollen.”
Lance groaned “Oh yes the dreaded swollen ankles.”
“Hey, what’s this pick on Chris night. And you can talk cupcake. All you do is complain you need to go pee.”
JC chuckled and picked at his dinner.
“You have to try to eat.” Justin’s concern was overpowering “Just a few mouthfuls my love, you don’t have to eat it all.”
“I ate, earlier, I told you.” JC whispered. He kept his eyes fixed on the plate knowing that Justin would see right through him.
“And I told you I was a mind reader my love.” Justin got out of his chair and crouched beside his lover. “Just a few spoonfuls my darling, I promise I won’t press you further.”
JC picked up his spoon and spooned a small amount of the rich stew into his mouth. He gagged almost immediately, but controlled himself enough to chew slowly and swallow the meat.
Justin smiled and returned to his seat. He took a large spoon of the stew and chewed it thoroughly before striking up a conversation keeping his eyes firmly fixed on JC. “So Lance when have you scheduled Chris’ caesarean? You and him are due the same day I’m guessing that you will be delivering him early.”
Lance swallowed his food “Actually Chris is going for a natural birth, I discovered that the changes I made in both JC and him would allow this.”
“I’m going to what? We never discussed a fucking natural birth.”
Lance ignored Chris‘ outburst. “We decided it would be less traumatic for the child and for Chris. A caesarean is so intrusive.”
Chris took a large mouthful of his wine. “Intrude away cupcake, I’m not giving fucking birth naturally or any other fucking way. I want drugs and lots of them. Preferably I want to be sleeping.”
Lance continued to ignore his lover. “I’m going to induce either him or myself in the next couple of days as you pointed out we don’t want to go into labour together.”
“HELLO! I am here. I want a caesarean Lance. I am not going to push a bowling ball through a eye of a fucking needle.”
JC let out a nervous snigger at the mental picture Chris had just painted. Coupled with the large amount of wine he had ingested and the relatively small amount of food he had eaten, his giggle soon became uncontrollable. Every time he thought he had stopped he would see Chris and picture an intense look of consentration on his face, squatting, his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth attempting to give birth.
His laugh was so infectious that soon Lance and Justin were giggling along with him. Chris pouted. “I don’t see what’s so frigging funny. I am not and I repeat not having a natural fucking birth!”
JC wiped his eyes and attempted to control his breathing. “I’m … I’m sorry, I just got this picture in my head … of you .. And …. And …” He spluttered bursting out laughing once more, clasping his belly.
Chris stood up his chair flying backwards feigning anger as he struggled not to give in to the incorrigible giggler “Well if you are going to just sit there and laugh at me I’m taking my wine and going.” he grabbed the bottle pretending to go into a strop. JC stopped laughing, suddenly swayed a little and fell forwards. Chris grabbed him stopping him from banging his head on the hard wood table. “Shit Lance what the fuck did you put in his wine?” he demanded.
Lance sat white faced. “I didn’t put it in yet, look!” The doctor pulled a small vial from his pocket.
Justin had pushed JC back up in his seat and was tapping his face gently. “Honey, sweetie, Jaycee can you hear me baby? What the hells wrong with him?”
Lance grabbed his scanner from where he had left it and ran it over the unconscious man. He sniggered , covering his mouth trying to act professional.
“Lance!” Justin was frantic, “Did he touch one of those damned flowers? or eat something ? What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s drunk.” Lance snapped the scanner closed and sat back down taking a sip of his own wine.
“How the hell can he be this drunk? He only had 1½ glasses.” Justin lifted JC head peering at his face, looking for signs of consciousness.
Chris snorted “He always was a frigging light weight when it came to alcohol. Cheers.” He gulped down the rest of his drink and promptly collapsed in a heap on the floor.
The two aliens stared at their respective boyfriends flabbergasted. Unsure of whether to pick them up or leave them to sleep it off. “How many glasses did Chris?”
“Two.” Lance interrupted.
“Two?” Justin couldn’t believe his ears.
“Just two.” Lance reiterated.
“And how many did you?”
“Five.” lance said before Justin could finish asking. “What about you?”
“Five.”
“Oh!”
“You can say that again.”
“Lance”
“Yes.”
“Maybe we should put them to bed?”
“I guess.”
The two aliens decided on moving Chris first as he was pregnant and ready to drop , and was laying spark out on the floor.
“Lance?”
They heaved him up between the two of them.
“What?”
“I think you had better get rid of the rest of that home brew.”
“So do I, I’ll pour it away,” Lance said. They dumped Chris onto his bed and pulled off his shoes. “I’ll give you a hand with JC.”
“Thanks he looks skinny but he’s all arms and legs when you are trying to pick him up. I know I’ve had to do it.” The went back to where the brunette was sleeping soundly, his head rolled back, soft snores escaping from his mouth. “My lover, the human accident waiting to happen. Tell me again Lance why do I keep him round?”
Lance chuckled “the same reason I put up with the Kirkpatrick humour, you love him.”
Justin gave a brief laugh. “Ha, yep I remember now.” They lifted the skinny body between them and half dragged him to the bed, dropping him on top of the duvet. “You okay for filling the tanks tomorrow?”
“Yep sure.” Lance nodded his head towards the quarters he share with his lover. “Don’t count on Mr ‘I can hold my drink’ being much help.”
“We’ll be ok.”
Lance kissed Justin on the cheek. “You going to be able to handle him?”
The younger man smiled “No problem. See you in the morning, nite.”
“Night.” Lance gave JC a quick peck on the cheek before walking away chuckling to himself about human idiosyncrasies.
Justin stripped JC of his clothes and manoeuvred him under the bedclothes before climbing in after him. “Night sweetie” he whispered before spooning up to JC’s soft warm body
He awoke at first light, crawling out of bed. Softly cussing at having to get up so early, but he wanted to ease JC’s load and to do that he had to make sacrifices. He pulled on his pants and shirt and went into the compound. Lance was already there, his hands sheaved in the thick felt gloves pulling up the deadly blooms that had sprung up over night.”
“Hey.”
“Hey to you too.” Lance stopped what he was doing. “I hate these fucking things. We need to find away of killing them off, at least in the compound.”
Justin nodded “You won’t hear me disagreeing. How’s Chris?”
“Still dead drunk. Jace?”
“The same.”
“What are we doing with the kids?” Justin shoved his hands in his pockets as Lance returned to his chore of eradicating the flowers.
“They’ll be good. I explained to Jovian that they had to stay inside till we got the water and that dada and poppa were still sleeping. I promised them some candy when we get back.”
Justin chuckled “Brave man, you know how Jace feels about the kids having too much candy.”
Lance stood up and brushed himself down before carrying the bucket of blooms to the incinerator and throwing them in. “I wasn’t planning on telling him.” He put the pail he had used to the side and collected another eight from where they were stacked.”
Justin sighed “I guess we had better get going. Any idea how to make this easier?”
Lance grinned “Funny you asked that.” he said with a cheeky wink.