The Plot Bunny (14 page)

Taylor nodded, and buried his face in Luc's shirt. "Thanks, bro," he said, his reply muffled by the material. "I'm happy for you too."

A knock sounded at the door. Luc and Taylor wiped their eyes, then bid the person on the other side to come in. Simon walked in the room and smiled at them. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Luc answered. "Just had a little heart to heart with the brat. What's up?"

"Dinner, apparently," Simon replied.

Taylor shot to his feet. "Oh, sweet. Food." He bounded out of the room, a spring in his step. Luc and Simon followed after him, holding hands.

The dinner was a bit awkward, but the atmosphere loosened up gradually. Everyone did their best to accept Simon into the family. Johnnie and Simon ended up talking about music, and Johnnie seemed pleasantly surprised to hear that Simon's sister played the piano. The children, very excited about meeting Uncle Simon, were having less trouble than the adults in adjusting. Apparently, they'd already met a few kids who had two daddies and no longer found it so weird. Dury couldn't help a small smile at that.

In the end, Simon offered to help Luc's mother, Jane, with the dishes. It was, of course, a pretext, since she obviously wanted to talk to him alone. "I don't always understand my son's lifestyle," she began.

"It's not a lifestyle," Simon interrupted her. "It's just the way we are. There's nothing wrong with that."

Jane nodded. "I get that. I know it's been hard for him to deal with things, and we haven't been very supportive, but I am trying. And above all else, I want him to be happy."

"That's what I want too," Simon answered softly.

Jane's eyes scrutinized Simon with an intensity that reminded Dury of Luc himself. "I'm glad," she said.

The conversation ended after that, but Dury could tell that Jane was satisfied with her son's choice. The two finished washing the dishes then returned to the living room. Dury felt a pang of longing and guilt as he watched his lovers spend a traditional family evening, board games, spilled drinks, and laughter included. Simon and Luc deserved that. They deserved to be happy with their loved ones.

When Simon and Luc left, just about every member of the family followed them to the door. Harrison asked them to come again, while Johnnie invited them to his house too. Taylor hugged his brother with enthusiasm and thanked him once again.

As Simon drove off, Dury wondered what his two humans would do. He felt torn. On one side, he was happy Luc's family accepted Simon. On the other, he knew it would be much harder to leave them behind. He didn't want Luc to suffer through that loss, or Luc's family to be hurt either. As a Death Angel, he'd seen a lot of that sorrow, and hated it.

"The decision is theirs, Duriel," Jezebel told him as the images in the crystal faded. "You can only love them."

* * * *

Time flew by on the mortal realm while Dury waited. He forced himself to accept what was going on, and Jezebel had told him that Luc and Simon were all right. Occasionally, Michael came to see Dury, talking to him, soothing him. Still, Dury found himself more and more restless. Jezebel no longer came with the crystal and Dury did not know what to believe. What if Simon and Luc were already dead and his parents were hiding it?

In the end, Jezebel once again started to regularly come to show him Luc and Simon's progress. The reunion with Simon's family didn't go as well as the previous one. Dury's heart hurt as he watched Susanne, Simon's sister, slap Luc and throw him out of her house. She could not accept their reconciliation, not even when Simon explained that their breakup had been a big misunderstanding.

Dury could practically feel Simon's pain when he left his sister's home. Even if he felt weak, Dury forced himself to send words of encouragement, to ensure his lovers that he was watching over them. He didn't want Simon to give up, or to come here without making up with Susanne. She meant too much to Simon, and a bond like that was too valuable to foolishly sever.

Every time, Simon and Luc heard him. At first, Dury had his doubts as to whether he should continue on this path, but he didn't have any other choice. Pushing Simon and Luc aside wouldn't help now. He needed to support them and hope for the best.

As Simon waited for Susanne to calm down, he and Luc settled legal matters, making sure their money would end up in safe hands once they were gone. Every step taken made everything that much more real to Dury, more so since his humans seemed to be taking everything in stride, as if preparing for death was just another task.

Perhaps the thought that they would meet Dury once again gave them strength, but with every moment that passed, Dury felt more and more amazed at their affection. He had no idea what he'd done to deserve something like this.

They'd spent so little time together, a few days with Luc and even less with Simon. And yet, he felt a connection with the two men, something he could not even begin to explain. He thought that maybe the two humans felt the same way.

Luc went to see Dana, ensuring her of his happiness by Simon's side. He tried to ask about Joshua, but predictably, the woman refused to give him any concrete information. Dury wished he could offer Joshua and Chance some angel help of their own, but he wasn't the one making the decisions. These days, he could barely move his wings, let alone assist humans with their troubles.

And then the day came when Simon and Luc visited Susanne once again. This time, she received them, even if she still glared at Luc as she did so.

"Hello, Susie," Simon greeted.

"You took your time in coming back," the woman muttered morosely.

"We figured you needed some time to calm down," Simon explained.

Susanne gave him a dark look. "I am very calm. I just don't want you to get hurt again. I remember how much you suffered when that bastard left you."

Luc cleared his throat at her words. "I'm right here, you know."

"Don't remind me," Susanne shot back.

Simon let out a sigh of exasperation. "Look, Susie. I want you to hear me out once and for all. I love Luc. Our breakup was as much my fault as it was his. I should have explained it better the first time, but I felt too hurt to think about it."

"Please, Susanne," Luc said. "In your heart, you know how much I care about your brother. I don't want this to separate the two of you. I miss the way things were before."

"That's all well and good," Susanne snapped. "But you can't expect me to believe all the nonsense you're spouting. What about the little slut that was hanging around you recently?"

Dury recoiled at the hatred in her tone. Sure, he'd known she didn't like him, and his eccentric outfits hadn't helped. Being called a slut wasn't pleasant, though, particularly since a part of him wondered if it could be true.

"Don't even think about it," his mother whispered. She always watched the crystal with him, knowing he needed all the support he could get when seeing the hardships Simon and Luc passed through. "You know you're nothing like that. You love those men, and that's all there is to it."

Her words made him feel better, but Susanne's insult still hurt. Simon and Luc must have felt it, because Luc took a deep breath, as if trying to overcome a silent pain. Dury bit his lip, hoping he wouldn't make things harder than they already were.

Simon's expression darkened as well, and he glared at his sister. "Don't talk about Dury like that."

Susanne gave Simon a look of disbelief. "Pardon? I think I didn't hear you right."

"You heard me just fine," Simon replied. "Dury is a very special person, for both Luc and me."

Susanne looked like she was going to faint. "I'm not sure I even want to know how that happened."

Luc and Simon briefly met each other's gazes and Dury wondered what they intended. It would be so much easier for them to deny any sentimental involvement with Dury. Granted, it would also be a big, fat lie, especially given the circumstances, but Dury didn't know if Susanne could understand the extent of the connection between him and the two humans.

"We love him," Simon said simply. "Both of us."

"This is insane," Susanne replied. "Since when are you into threesomes, Simon? Is this some sort of method to convince this jerk to come back to you? It's beneath your dignity to act like this."

"I'm surprised at you, Susanne," Luc shot back. "You should think more highly of your twin. He wouldn't put himself in a humiliating situation, nor would he settle for anything. He and I fit that way, and Dury fits with us both."

Susanne shook her head, obviously shocked. Still, she gestured for them to sit down. They obeyed and took a seat on the living room couch. After a small hesitation, Susanne plopped down of the armchair in front of it. "I really don't know what to say," she began. "A few months back, you didn't even know this Dury person, and now you claim to love him."

Simon sighed. "If you knew him, you'd love him too. He's just… I can't explain it. Just amazing."

Dury didn't think he was all that special. Perhaps if Simon and Luc met other angels, they'd consider him bland, weak, and pathetic. He did not have his father's powers, and he tended to be much more soft-hearted than others of his kind. During his beginning years, it had rendered him unable to finish his missions. What would they think, though, when they learned he was a Death Angel? Would they understand it?

Susanne snorted. "A cross-dressing boy like that? I really didn't see anything amazing about him."

Dury saw Luc
'
s anger rising. Taking
a deep breath, he focused on Luc and Simon
'
s image and sent
his humans
a message,
"
It
'
s okay. She
'
s right, in her own way. Don
'
t be
upset. You didn
'
t
go
there for arguing.
"

It was getting easier to contact Luc and Simon. It now drained Dury less, and even if his emotions still sapped him of his energy, he could speak to them in their minds more often.

Both men froze, then Simon reached for Luc's hand and squeezed it. "Anyway," he said, "we didn't come here to argue. I want you to understand my feelings, to accept that I'm back with Luc because I so desire. We broke up because I pushed Luc for more in an entirely inadequate way."

Luc nudged Simon with his shoulder. "Hey, it was my fault. I never should have let a damned writer's block come first."

Simon covered Luc's mouth with his hand. "Let me speak. It's true that Luc neglected our relationship. You already know that. But I didn't tell you that in my hurt and anger, I almost cheated on Luc. I wanted to force his hand to break him out of that damn trance of his. I thought he'd fight for us, and the opposite happened."

Luc shook Simon's hand off. "It was Dury who made us see what we'd lost, how mistaken we were."

Simon smiled at his twin sister. "Susie, I love you," he said. "I want us to be a family, me, your husband and kids, Luc, his parents and brothers, and Dury. What do you say?"

Susanne jumped into her brother's arms, nearly knocking Simon over. "Of course I want that, too. But, on one condition…" From Simon's lap, she turned to glare at Luc. "If you ever hurt my brother again, you won't live to see the next morning."

Luc's eyes flickered slightly and Dury knew what his lover was thinking. Neither he, nor Simon would live that much longer in the first place. Pain shot through Dury once again. In the mortal realm, Simon paled, and Luc brought a hand to his mouth, as if nauseous.

Susanne immediately concerned. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"A glass of water would be nice," Luc said weakly. "We must have eaten something bad before we came here."

Susanne nodded and shot to her feet. She rushed to the kitchen and poured some bottled water into two glasses. Returning to the living room, she offered Luc and Simon the glasses. The two men sipped the water as Dury struggled to hold his emotions in check.

Finally, his humans seemed to recover. "Thanks, sis," Simon said, returning the glass to Susanne.

"No problem," the woman answered.

She glanced at Luc, who offered her a small grin. "And here I thought you didn't care about me."

Susanne's lips twisted in an answering smile. "Don't get excited. I'm still angry."

Luc laughed, and Dury breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the tension in the room dissipate. Susanne returned the glasses to the kitchen, and called out, "So where is this Dury? When can I meet him?"

She obviously still felt uncomfortable about the whole thing, but was willing to try to understand. More than ever, Dury regretted not being able to offer Luc and Simon a real life on the mortal realm.

Luc hesitated slightly. "We figured we needed to talk to you first. You'll meet him soon, of course."

Dury hoped not. He didn't want to meet her, at least not in an "official capacity". He guessed that he'd soon be reinstated as a Death Angel, although one could never tell with these things.

Susanne came back to the living room and sat down on the armchair once again. "So tell me about him. What does he do? Is he a student or what?" Her eyes widened. "Oh my God, is he even legal?"

Luc choked a
little at that. Obviously, it had never occurred to him that such a thing could be a problem.
Dury couldn
'
t help a small giggle at that.
"
I
'
m older than you three put together,
"
he sent to his
men.

At that, Simon's gaze shot to the ceiling in the disbelief. "What?" Susanne asked. "What is it?"

Simon seemed to listen for a few seconds, but then shook his head. "I thought I heard something. I don't suppose you have rats in the house," he teased.

"Of course not," Susanne said, outraged. "And don't change the subject."