Baby Makes Four(Part 4/?)
Title: Baby Makes Four (Part 4/?)
Author: Riversorrowdh
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or Stacey, the events in the story never happened. The only character I own is Gracie...
Summary: Michael and Stacey are married and have a four year old daughter, but Michael is in love with David and Jason.
Author's Notes: I know I promised some background, but one thing led to another and I decided that I needed to post the next part first. Background story is coming though. :)
"Wakey, wakey."
Someone is stroking my cheek. At first I try to bat away their hand, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. Then I come to the realization that it must be Stacey, attempting to patch things up from the night before. Without thinking, I say, "Morning, sweetheart."
"Good morning, darling." I wrinkle my eyebrows in confusion. That isn’t my wife’s voice. In fact, if I didn’t know any better, it sounded an awful lot like…
My eyes snap open and I find an amused-looking David Cook is staring down at me. I close my eyes and turn my head away from the light of day. "Go away, you roach," I mutter. "I’m sleeping."
"Hey, that’s not nice." David says. "Especially after we made you breakfast."
My eyes shoot open, watering from the sudden blast of air. "You what?"
"Don’t worry, Michael," says a cool sounding Jason from the coffee table. He lifts up his hand meekly, slightly elevating a finger or two and smiling proudly. "I supervised."
I stumble quickly off the couch, incidentally becoming tangled in my paper-thin blanket and falling to the ground. Instantly I brush myself off and dash into the kitchen.
To my utmost surprise, the kitchen is spotless as if no one had been there. However, on the table is a plate of eggs and toast, a cup of coffee, and Gracie’s oatmeal. "You guys did this?"
"Of course. It’s the least we could do." David says, motioning towards the table. "Sit, eat." I do as I’m told.
"Where’s Gracie?" Jason asks after awhile.
I finish the last morsel of food on the plate and look up. "Still sleeping." I must have said it with such guilt, such sadness that both David and Jason lean in with concerned looks on their faces.
"What happened?" Asks Jason, always the first to notice that something’s wrong.
I sigh and put my elbows on the table, my head in my hands. "She saw Stacey and me fighting late last night," I say to the counter.
David puts a warm hand on my shoulder. "It’ll be fine. She’ll be fine."
"I don’t know anymore, guys. I just don’t know. I can’t take this; it’s killing me." I sniff, blinking back tears.
"You’re just stressed," Jason chimes in.
"Maybe." I look up. "I don’t want to stay in this marriage. I tried, God help me, I tried, but it’s just too much. I want nothing more than to take Gracie and move in with you two, like we always talked about. But God knows what that’s going to do to her."
Jason and David nodded simultaneously.
I sniff back tears again, and wipe my eyes. "Sorry, guys." I stand. "Sorry."
David comes around the counter and pulls me into an embrace. "We’ll help you feel better," he whispers into my ear. Jason comes around to my other side and hooks his arms around both David and myself.
"We promise," he murmurs, looking me directly in the eye. I smile and embrace the both of them. And as each of us leans forward and our heads touch, I know in my heart just where I belong.
Gracie comes downstairs twenty minutes later her usual bouncy, innocent self. On the outside, she looks to have forgotten about the previous night, but I know that she’s far from healed. It seems to help, though, that David and Jason are here this morning, as they are most every morning. Instantly, Gracie is the center of attention, as she should be.
David picks up my daughter and spins her around. "What’s up, babe?"
She giggles. "I’m dizzy!"
David sets Gracie down on the counter, laughing along with her. Jason walks over and kisses the top of my daughter’s head. I walk over as well and give Gracie a hug. "Morning, Gracie."
"Hi daddy." She kisses my cheek. Out of the corner of my eye, I can practically see David’s and Jason’s hearts melt at the sight. I can’t help but stare as the love in their eyes takes me by my heart.
"Let’s play Guitar Hero." David says suddenly, an evil glare in his eye. Jason and I look at each other warily and suddenly, we both cracked a smile. David looks from myself to Jason and bursts out laughing. "All right! Let’s go! I’ll beat you both, I swear."
I lift Gracie down onto the floor and hand her the bowl of oatmeal. I kneel down next to her. "Don’t tell mommy, ok? Be careful on the carpet."
"Okay." I ruffle her messy hair and stand.
David and Jason lead the way into the living room as I follow Gracie, watching her carry the bowl of oatmeal in her hands and sit carefully on the couch. I take a seat next to her as David sets up the game. Jason, taking up one of the guitar controllers, pushes back his dreads from his face. He turns and smiles at my daughter and me. "You can play me after I win." Jason says this with such confidence, such authority that I’m left awestruck at this sudden, strange change of personality.
David guffaws at Jason’s statement. "As if." He takes up his controller, his face wiping clean of all but seriousness and they begin their battle.
Gracie and I watch in amusement as David’s and Jason’s game continues. At first, it had seemed as if David was winning, but then, in a glorious display of guitar playing, Jason eventually wins not only one, but three songs in a row. After his third victory, Jason sets down his guitar and pushes back his dreadlocks, smiling widely. He had won the battle for the very first time. Gracie cheers for Jason while I watch David. He hasn’t moved since Jason’s win, and I’m beginning to worry.
"David?" I ask warily over Gracie’s voice. David slowly turns only his head towards Jason, who is sitting on the couch next to Gracie. He looks smugly back at David, whose lips curl up and he snarls wolfishly back at Jason. The smile immediately vanishes from Jason’s face, and in a flash, he hurdles over the coffee table and takes off running, David hot on his heels. Gracie and I watch Jason and David appear and disappear as they run in circles throughout the rooms. Every now and then, David calls, "Get back here, Eyelashes!" On more than one occasion, Jason squeals in terror as David almost catches up to him.
I feel there was nothing I could do to stop David without putting Jason and myself in danger, so mostly I cheered along with Gracie and watched them run. Eventually, David’s power overcomes Jason’s speed and they both fall to the ground. I try hard not to think about how unbelievably hot this makes me.
This problem is solved relatively suddenly as I hear someone clear their throat loudly. Everything stops as the four of us look up to see Stacey standing at the end of the couch, looking as angry as I’ve ever seen her. I sigh as everything attached to my body goes back to normal. I stand, taking a long last look at David and Jason’s fearful faces, frozen there on the floor. I will them silently to get up from their incriminating positions, yet the more daring side of me wants them to stay put. I don’t stare long enough to find out. I face my wife, who seems to have grown a whole two inches since I last saw her, and prepare myself for another long, hard night.
"Hi, Stace." I lean in to kiss her cheek, knowing that this is a lost cause. Usually, I would spare my lovers from such a sight, but something tells me that this time, all the rules have been broken and nothing much will matter later. She pushes at my chest and re-crosses her arms. "David and Jason wanted to see Gracie and me." I tell her, my voice cool but my eyes challenging her.
"I told you last night that I…"
"Stacey, not now."
"Not now? After everything we talked about last night?"
I can’t stop myself. "As I remember, you were the one who did most of the talking." I cringe and can hear one of the boys take in their breath and hold it. I crossed the line, and I knew it even before the words had jumped out.
"I want them out of here now." I hear her voice start to rise and I put a hand up to silence her.
My wife’s eyes all but pop out of their sockets. "I cannot believe you. I told you that I did not want them near Gracie, and now I see that I was all too right, my God, Michael, you are so self centered. I---"
I heard Stacey’s voice start to rise and I hold up my hand again. "Stacey, Stacey, Stacey," I say quickly, nudging my head at our daughter. She quiets, takes a deep breath, her hands on her hips, and looks down at the ground.
After a few moments of awkward silence, she says, quietly, "Get out." I can see she’s straining to keep her voice level. For a moment, I believe she is talking to me; my body convulses with hundreds of different thoughts and feelings. But then her eyes shift and she is looking straight at David and Jason.
"You can’t throw them out."
"The hell I can’t. I need to talk to you."
"They don’t need to leave in order for you to talk to me." I find that now I’m trying to keep my voice from rising as well.
"It’s okay, Michael." David’s voice calms my heart and anxieties. "We can go." I close my eyes as I hear them say a solemn goodbye to Gracie, to which she responds cheerily, and in a second, they are next to me. David momentarily puts his hand on my shoulder. "Call you later," he mumbles. Jason gives me his sad, knowing smile and holds up a hand in farewell. I smile back and try to convey my apologies with my eyes.
As they pass, David and Jason’s eyes are filled with love and promise that only I can understand.
"You can not throw them out of here. This is my house, too."