You keep me warm, you make me smile

Wandering along the hallway that lead to his apartment, keys jingled in his pocket as hand dipped inside to fish it out. Reaching the door, there flood out sounds of music and voices, and other such strange noises that Evander wasn't used to hearing from his home. Hands fell to the handle, carefully pushing it down and finding the door to already be unlocked. With a slow push, the brunet used his shoulder to help guide the door open, blue eyes peering inside, the voices louder; as well as the music.

Pushing the door fully open and slipping inside, eyes fell onto the couch, seeing the back of two heads. Both red heads too, but one was a strawberry blond while the other had a much more reddish colour to his mop of red locks. Letting the door close behind him, the sound it made wasn't loud enough for anyone to hear over the music blaring through his speakers. It was not something Nat tended to listen to, nor the person seated beside him that had to be none other than Nat's cousin. Approaching the couch, eyes fell to the space between the pair and on the floor. Bright, post box red hair sticking out in all directions.

"Hey, no fair! I was blocking you!" Nat called out, voice followed by Sim's laughter. Letting his eyes drift from the group of males, Evander looked to the television screen where two computer game characters were attacking each other with weapons. "And did you have to choose the biggest breasted character in the entire game, Sim?"

"Hey, no dissing the breasts!" Jamie called out from his spot on the floor. "And the scantily clad-ness of her outfit either,"

There was a scoff from Simon. "Not to mention, your character isn't exactly winner of rear of the year. The stick? Over compensating much?"

"Nat only picked him 'cus he has brown hair,"

Long leg kicked out, hitting Jamie in the arm. "I picked this one because it looked cool. I didn't know he sucked," there was a pout forming on his lips, one that Evander thought was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. Held in Nat's hands, and a similar one within Sim's, were video game controllers. Obviously sim had bought himself a new computer game console and had brought it along for Nat to play on. Jamie had called over early in the morning before Evander had set off for university, claiming he was spending the day with Nat so they could work on their mathematics projects together.

"This doesn't look like homework," Evander chuckled.

Head tilted backwards, gingers strands splaying out over the back of the couch. Grin formed on his lips, a bright pink straw held between his teeth. "Sim came over, so we're playing video games instead," he replied sheepishly. "And beside, Sim is helping us."

"How is playing games helping you in anyway?" he asked, brow arching in curiosity. He wasn't angry with Nat, more curious. Both Nat and Jamie were amazingly skilled with mathematics, and with Anna making sure they kept up to date, they could afford to goof off from time to time.

"Annihilation!" Sim called out, punching the air. "Bill, you suck."

Nat didn't care that he had lost the fight. Nor was he paying attention to the fact Jamie had reached up and stolen the controller from his hands, only registering the fact that he was now free to pull Evander around the couch and up onto his lap, letting the shorter boy's legs straddle him. Hands slipped around the boy's waist and he leaned in, stealing a few sweet kisses. "Sim let us borrow Ultima, and we're running the equations through a simulator. If it beeps, it means we've messed up and have to fix it," he explained. "We've been running it for about an hour, and no beeps."

"That's because we're made of win," came Jamie's sarcastic comment, the older male's blue eyes fixed on the television screen, thumbs pushing the buttons to make his character dance around on the screen and attack the scantily clad female character Sim had chosen. Infact, both female characters were wearing practically nothing. "And even if I can't see it, I can still hear you two sucking face."

Again, Nat kicked his friend in the arm. "You're just jealous that I have a beautiful person sitting in my lap, and all you have is Little Miss Not-wearing-a-lot." The reply Nat gave had Evander laughing softly, a blush forming on his cheeks. "So how was class?" he asked, ignoring any replies that came from his friend on the floor.

Shrugging softly, there wasn't much to report. Nothing exciting was happening, nor anything really of interest. "I have a few essays to write, but other than that, nothing happens much."

Hand came up, brushing tender fingers over the soft skin of his cheek. "As long as you're doing well, and doing what you want, I don't mind. Plus, I can entertain you when you come home,"

"Just not when I'm here."

"Shut up, Jamie, it's cute," and it was Sim's turn to kick Jamie's other side. "Don't you do romantic?"

Jamie just scoffed, wicked grin forming on his lips as his character won the round against Sim's, blue eyes trained on the screen before him, much like Sim's were. He won the second and third rounds, and as the game drew to a close, tilted his head back to see Nat and Evander with their lips locked together. Rolling his eyes, he let out a long "Ewwww, get a room."


Pulling away, Evander looked down, a bright smile on his face. "We own this room, so does that mean we've already got one?"

"Ooooh, saucy!" Jamie purred back sarcastically. "Just keep the tonsil hockey to a minimum then."

There was a giggle from Nat, his hands wandering and curling under the end of Evander's shirt. Another giggle, and the shirt was pulled up and over his boyfriend's head, Evander reaching up with his arms to comply. Thanks to Nat, he felt much more at ease with himself. Not to mention they were in their own home, and the only two people around were Sim (who had declared having no interesting in him whatsoever) and Jamie (who had caught him wandering out of the shower one day in nothing but a towel. Even though he was straight, the male with the red dyed hair had said that for a guy, Evander was actually quite pretty, but 'so not his type even though he didn't swing that way anyway') which left Evander feeling quite relaxed, the only fear about being half naked hidden within his eyes. Easily quelled with a few kisses from his boyfriend's lips.

With the shirt off, Nat dropped it onto Jamie's head, causing the male to let out a yelp and crawl away, throwing the garment back at the pair. The trio seated on the sofa burst out laughing, Sim burying his head into the crook of his arm while Nat's head fell onto Evander's chest, shoulders shaking with the laughter. They would have kept laughing, were it not for the fact that Sim's laptop that had been sitting on the floor beside the game console starting beeping.

Stealing another kiss, Nat reluctantly allowed Evander to slip from his lap and pull his top back on, the two mathematician's moving the laptop to the table littered with their work. The games and fun would have to wait a little while longer. While they were off checking their work, Evander went to change the CD and get rid of the Slipknot CD Jamie had obvious tainted his sound system with.

Aftermath - Segment one

It had been quite the memorable service, and by the time the reception was well under way, even more guests had managed to arrive. It had been planned that only close friends and family fly to England where the wedding was being held in a gorgeous hotel in the Cotswolds. Stepping away from the bar, glass of sparkling water in her hand, Madeline turned and allowed her gaze to wash over the many people who had now shown up for the after party. Passing over the crowds, gaze dropped lower than the average height, soon spotting a young boy, only nine or so wandering, or more like leading in his case, a little girl in one of the prettiest bridesmaid dresses ever conceived. The sight of the pair brought a smile to her lips.

"You had better watch out for that," warned a friendly voice from behind her, a brunet male making his way to stand at Madeline's side. "He'll hit his 'girls are icky and have cooties' stage soon."

She gave a soft chuckle, sipping her water while watching her little girl happily follow around the older boy. "It's like the reverse of her father, going for an older man."

"Like her mother then," Al replied, brown eyes looking to her. "Although, I have to admit, older men are just that little bit better."

"Have you ever thought of remarrying?" she asked him, looking away from her daughter and Alastar's son to focus on the man instead. "You and David make such a wonderful couple."

At this, the male shook his head. "As much as I love him, I don't want to tarnish what we have by such a thing. I was married once, to someone I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with, and look where I ended up. But, I have to admit, had it not happened, I doubt anything would have come between David and I. Perhaps the want for him would have been there, but being married to Harmony would have kept me from doing what I wanted," he explained. "No, what we have now is much better than any marriage I could ever imagine. Speaking of marriage, where is your other half?"

Madeline smiled, motioning over the crowd to where Jonathan was; the man chatting away with the newly married couple. "It is quite the turnout for a 'small' wedding. I'm amazed that half the school didn't show."

"Well, so many bonds have been created through Constance, Madeline. Evander was best man for Tetsu, meaning that he brought along Nathanael. Now, while not part of the wedding, the boy's twin and younger sister have come. With Joseph, he brought Aubrey. I'm here for Morgan, and Bailee is here with Jenny, who's here for Tetsu. David is probably the only photographer allowed into the wedding."

With the fame that Tetsu had lived with his entire life, it was odd now finding herself thrown into a limelight since the person her children's father had chosen to be with was quite the famous fashion designer. "I still can't believe how I found out," she told Alastar, looking up at him once more, soft smile on her face. "But I have to admit, I always thought it would be Morgan to propose."

Al chuckled lightly, watching as his son made a beeline for him, closely followed by the little bridesmaid. Reuben dived behind his legs, arms clinging to his father's waist, peering out at the little girl. "Ben...?"

"Izzy wants to dance!" the boy replied, hiding away. "I don't dance."

Madeline found herself laughing, leaning down to lift the four year old up, resting her delicately on her hip. "Where's Christian?"

"Auntie Phee said she was kidnapping him for a dance," she giggled in reply. "I want to dance with RooRoo!"

"How about dancing with a real man?" came a voice from behind the small group. Looking behind her at the blue eyed man, camera in one hand and the other held out in a very gentlemanly way towards her daughter.

Isobel only pouted, shook her head and nuzzled her face into the crook of her mother's neck, throwing her arms around her. "Want RooRoo!" she called out.

"Shot down by a four year old, David," Madeline chuckled, bouncing the girl up and down lightly. "Tarnished ego?"

The older man merely laughed, shaking his head. "No, because I know who will dance with me."

"If you say me, I'll bite your finger," retorted Reuben from his spot by his father. "You stand on my feet."

Alastar couldn't help but laugh, the soft sound almost like music in a way. Patting the nine year old on the head, he slipped away and took hold of the hand that had been offered to the girl. "Come on you, I'll show you how to dance without stepping on people's feet."

"I can dance though. He stamps on mine," David replied, but willingly allowed his partner to lead him to the dance floor where several other couples had gathered, leaving Madeline with the two children.

Clear blue eyes looked up at the adult, Roo's little fingers curling around the fabric of her skirt and giving it a light tug to signify that he desired attention from the woman. "Maddie?"

"Hnnmm...?"

"I want juice, please."

Another soft chuckle, and lowering her daughter (who was reluctant to let go) to the floor, she placed gave her glass to Isobel to hold, then took both their hands, leading them away to find Reuben something to drink. "Why don't you want to dance with Izzy?" she asked him.

"Because," he replied simply.

"That's not an answer."

"Because he thinks I can't dance," Isobel added firmly. "Well I can. I'm very good."

Reuben mumbled something, but Madeline couldn't decipher it. Looking down to him, he took a deep breath, pausing his steps. "I don't like dancing," he admitted sheepishly, looking down at his shoes. That morning they had been polished, but now had been scuffed up by the strange ability little boys had at making anything dirty, even if they were in a clean room. Her own son had managed to go through two shirts today, although the fact he kept throwing off his jacket may have added to the fact that he managed to stain the white material.

Carefully crouching down to his level, soft smile on her lips, she reached over, smoothing out his messy hair. "Isobel can teach you," looking to the little girl, the blue eyes girl grinned and nodded, agreeing. "See, Izzy will show you, and she's not very heavy, so it won't hurt if she stands on your toes."

"Which I won't" came the sassy reply.

"See. Now, why don't you two go and dance, and I'll go and get you some juice?" Madeline suggested.

Reuben thought about this for a while, but finally agreed with the nod of the head. Isobel handed back the glass to her mother, grabbed his hand then dragged him away, leaving Madeline to try and stand up. Just as she went to push herself up, a hand came into her view, a golden band around his ring finger. Reaching out with her own hand, fingers curled around her own, and she was pulled to her feet and instantly into an embrace. She didn't need to see his face to know who it was that was holding her, and now gently swaying them both from side to side.

"I was thinking that tomorrow, we head up to Glasgow and maybe visit my mother," came the Scottish accent of the man holding her. "It'll be like an extended holiday for the twins, and we can tell my mother in person about the baby."

Sighing softly, Madeline moved to rest her cheek on the taller man's shoulder, eyes looking to his face. A gentle smile formed on her lips, and she gave a nod in agreement. "This reminds me of our wedding."

"You're still as beautiful now as you were back then," he told her tenderly. "Oh, and with this pregnancy, I know to buy extra socks."

You pay my rent

It was a Tuesday, and the weather outside looked grim, but it was bright inside. The set lights flooded the room with light, the pure white background making everything that much brighter and wonderful. Lake preferred a blank backdrop, because then all focus would be on the people in the shot, rather than what was going on around him. Yes, he did site shoots, but a one Lake Dale was well known in the photography circuit was for his skills working with models. He worked mainly for a studio, but also worked freelance. He was a regular at anime and game conventions, and while he would spend much of his time snapping away at all the people who had come dressed up, even at his age hadn't lost his passion for dressing up either.

There were no conventions on the horizon, and heading into the office after running from the train station to the New York studio, it seemed like there was little going on. Slipping past the main upstairs office, tucked away from the cameras, he dumped his things onto his already messy desk, and searched for the list containing all his current lists of work, when two names stuck out.

One was a high rise fashion designer. He had married a few years ago, but his work still remained under the name of 'Nomura'. Lake adored working with him, even if he was a little blunt towards his models. The man knew exactly what he wanted, and Lake gave him nothing less than perfection. He had attended the same high school as Tetsu, although were situated in different years and really only knew each other few a few things (mainly a student called Glass).

But there was another name, from the very same high school he had attended on the sheet of paper. Brown eyes looked down at the name. The model wasn't to be shot specifically by him, and glancing up from the page, eyes fell onto the man who would be taking care of the young model.

"Hey, Ricky, have you worked with Harriet before?"

The photographer in question looked up from his work where he was laying out photos of a very macabre theme out. "You mean Harriet Faelings, or Harriet Jenner?"

"The first one."

Ricky grinned, lips adorned with more piercings than Lake thought were attractive, they seemed more like a mutilation of the man's lower lip. "She's got this insect of a model, but she has gorgeous red hair, works well with blood. Not the most amazing body, but you can get away with naked shots, and the lifeless doll look she has in her eyes is amazing."

Lake's gaze fell to the paper in his hand. "Lifeless doll..." he muttered.

"Why so interested, Muffin? I thought you were a fag."

Sighing, Lake allowed the paper to drift down onto his desk, and slipped around to where Ricky stood, standing on tip toes to lean up to him, a malicious grin on his lips. "Because that model is friends with one of the few people I have ever truly given my heart to, and you're talking about her like she's trash."

"She's a model, Lake," the taller man replied, narrowing his eyes at the smaller, but older by a year, photographer. "They have no personal opinion. You work with Nomura, you work with other designers, you should know by now that the models have learned to accept that their feelings don't matter."

At that, teeth clenched together, Lake ready to burst, and he rarely ever felt like he was going to punch someone. "I work with Tetsu, because he's good," he told Ricky through gritted teeth. "And I care about her, because she was not only friends with Elliot, but she was my friend too, and in a few seconds you have managed to reduce her to nothing more than a mannequin!"

Growling, the male turned and marched away, heading out of the office to search through the many rooms in the building, wondering if perhaps the girl was in one of them. As he walked, he heard a shout of "She pays your rent" called from the office, which made the usually calm and care-free male even angrier. As he got to one of the rooms, the door flew open, and a blur of red hair shot past him. Shocked, and unable to follow, Lake looked back to where the girl had come from.

"That girl will never work in modeling again," the woman spat out.

"I don't think that is going to be very true, Miss Faelings," Lake informed her with a grin that ran from ear to ear. By the way things seemed, a different photograph had got there before Ricky, and the model had obviously rejected and stormed off.

Harriet looked at the twenty four year old blond standing in her way with a narrowed gaze. "And who do you think you are? I can ruin her career faster than you can say model."

"I, Miss Faelings, am Lake Dale. I'm a well known, and well published photographer. I'm sure you've heard of me, and am apposed at how you neglected to bring her to me while she was still under your employment," At just hearing his name, the woman became unnerved and agitated. Lake Dale was a photographer that was hard to get hold of, and he was obviously much better than what that stupid girl could ever achieve. "I do think it will be your career which has been ruined, that is, if I can get word out before her brother's get to you, and believe me, Harriet, I know what those two men are capable of."

"Are you threatening me, Mr. Dale?"

Lake grinned even more, if it was physically possible. "Oh no, not in any way. I'm just informing you that the girl you have turned into a pay check was not only someone I attended high school with, but was an inspiration for many of the photos that allowed me to become who I am today; although she doesn't know it yet." he reached out, and patted the woman on the shoulder in a very condescending manner. "I bid you farewell, Miss Faelings," and with a soft nod, he left her to resume his work. He'd leave it a while, allow the model to settle again before appearing at her door with an offer he knew she wouldn't refuse, desperate or not.

And that day came, and he stood outside the door and happily knocked on. a red head answered the door, but not one Lake had been expecting, but still, he offered up a smile.

"Natty!" he called out, taking a shaking the older male's hand. "Do you remember me?"

Frown formed and brown eyes wandered over Lake, trying to determine him. When the memory clicked, he grinned and enveloped the old schoolmate in a hug. Laughing, Lake pulled away. "Since I'm not out of a job, you haven't torched down my studio. Is Juliet here?"

"Believe me, Lake, we wanted to, but Evander didn't want us to be imprisoned for arson. I talked to someone at the last studio Juliet worked at, and the woman said that Harriet was bankrupt, out of work and all her models had left her."

"Bankrupt? Wow, I didn't realize I was that good!"

"You did it to her?"

Lake nodded. "So can I see Juliet?"

Nat looked at him skeptically. "You won't make her pose nude?"

At that, the younger male rolled his eyes. "Please. I hate breasts. I'm with your boyfriend on the whole heterosexual intercourse is icky."

At this, the ginger male giggled and moved aside to allow the photograph entrance to his apartment. Lake stepped inside, and saw the young model staring at the fish her older brother had collected, occasionally tapping on the glass of the tropical tank. Without word, Lake lifted a camera from the bag that had been hanging from his shoulder and snapped her up. At the sound of the shutter and sudden flash of light, the girl swung her head around to face the man.

"What....?"

Lowering the camera, Lake smiled brightly at her. "I want to be your agent," he said honestly. "And I promise, no naked pictures, because naked girls are yucky, even if you are truly beautiful."

Take care of me

It was lunchtime on a Thursday afternoon and the college students and filtered in to the room to stay out of the cold world beyond the college walls. It had been snowing for the past few days, and college had been closed up until yesterday, although some students didn't return until today, bringing with them tales of all the things they had done while the snow lay thick and fresh upon the ground. But, some teachers were unable to attend, and there were still classes on hiatus.

Sadly, his class wasn't one of them.

Finding a table to sit and eat, tiredness had swept in and instead of eating, head was placed into the warmth of a curled arm. The sounds of others joining him at the table could be heard outside his private cocoon, but he didn't acknowledge their arrival until one spoke out.

"Well, don't we look like death warmed up," a male commented, reaching over and stealing a handful of Nat's French fries, despite having a plate full of his own.

"Hello Jamie," Nat murmured in reply, tilting his head on his arm to look at the male seated opposite. His head felt like lead, and every now and again, a pain cough broke through his system.

"I do believe our poor little Nathanael is suffering from a cold," spoke the girl seated beside the ginger haired male, reaching over and smoothing her hand over the long, silky soft strands as if petting a cat or some other household pet. "Why aren't you at home in bed?"

"Don't tell us you've fallen out with that little thing you drag around and call a boyfriend?" asked Jamie somewhat sarcastically.

Since graduating high school, and leaving the familiarity of being in his brother's shadow, Nathanael had broadened his horizons and developed friendships of his own since he didn't have his twin around to help him make friends. The group seated with him now were all in studying the same mathematics course. Theodore called them the 'Geek Squad' because they were all very intelligent mathematicians. There was Jamie, Anna and Matty.

Nat groaned at the other's comment. "His classes have been canceled until Monday. I didn't want to bother him," he replied, allowing Anna to wrap her arms around him and give him a hug. She was so warm compared to how cold he felt.

"What about your brother?" Matty asked, glancing up from his laptop screen. Matty always seemed to be glued to the thing, but Nat found him to be a loyal friend. They all liked him for who he was, and none held any problems with the fact Nathanael was in a gay relationship. Jamie said he was fine with it as long as he wasn't graced with intimate details. He reminded Nat of his twin in some ways.

"He and Lila have an appointment with the doctor or something for her sonogram."

Anna made an "Aww" sound and Matty asked "How does it feel to be an uncle so young?"

"Twenty two isn't that young," he replied, still not wanting to lift his head from the nest of his arms. Anna's fingers felt nice through his hair, but he knew he'd prefer to have someone else running their fingers through the ginger strands. Sadly, he was at home where it was warm. He was about to say something else, when his body was hit by a wave of harsh coughs, the male having to sit up to try and clear some of the crap from his throat.

"Die quietly," Jamie retorted sarcastically.

Anna sighed softly, making gentle soothing noises to her friend. "I don't think you should come to algebra after lunch. I think you should go home. We'll tell Professor Gregory that you're ill and had to go home. I'm sure he won't mind." Anna had taken up the role of mother in the group, possibly because she was the only girl. She made sure they all did their homework with time to spare, and that they all stayed fit and healthy. "I'll come over to your apartment tonight and cook you something nice to help you feel better."

"Anna, he has a boyfriend that can do that too, you know," Matty informed her, his blue eyes fixed on his screen, watching it through thin rimmed glasses. Matty and Anna were the only two of the four to wear glasses, although Jamie wore contacts. It seemed that Nat was the only one with perfect vision. "You don't need to mollycoddle him just because he has a cough,"

"And he's burning up," she added, fingers brushing away the strands of hair from Nat's forehead. "Do you think you can drive him home, Matty?"

Nat groaned. He didn't want them going out of their way to look after him. Forcing himself to sit up, he shook his head. "I can walk. It's not that far." He normally caught the bus, but due to the weather and condition of the road the buses weren't running today.

"Bollocks," replied Jamie, rolling his eyes at Nat. "If Matty can't take you, I'll drive you,"

"He needs to get home alive and in one piece, Jamie," Anna replied, narrowing her eyes at the male. "That deathtrap you call a car is not safe for a passenger like our poor Natty."

"I can take him," Matty said, folding close the lid of his computer and moved to pack it away. "I don't mind being late for class. I'll make sure he gets home safely."

Anna smiled brightly, wanting to lean over and hug her friend, but instead chose to rub Nat's back as he began coughing again, using a curled fist to cover his mouth. "I'll come over tonight and bring your homework with me, Nat. Don't you worry."

Jamie scoffed. "The poor man is dying, and you want to bring him his homework, woman?"

A smile crept over Nat's lips as he watched and listened to his friends interact. "Thanks guys," he croaked out meekly, allowing Anna to help him stand. Coat was grabbed from the back of the chair and quickly thrown on. He was about to button it up, when Anna wrapped her own scarf around him, and her smaller fingers tapped his away and she buttoned him up.

"Now, I want you to go home and go straight to bed," she ordered him, glancing to Matty who had now moved to stand beside her. "And you make sure he does, Matthew, or else."

Matty smiled down at her, leaning down to her level to place a kiss onto her cheek. "Yes, mother hen."

Anna's attempted to slip her pink mittens onto Nat's hands, but the male pulled them away and stuffed them into his pockets. The cold had set in that morning, and Nat had neglected finding his own gloves. Evander had been asleep and he hadn't wanted to wake him just to ask where his gloves were.. Despite being the youngest, Anna treated them all like she was the eldest. She was a simply wonderful girl, intelligent, funny and pretty in her plainness. Not to mention she wasn't easily swayed by a flirtatious grin and a quick wink from Theodore, almost as if she were immune to the male's charms.

She sent the pair on their way with a big hug and a kiss to both their cheeks, receiving the same in return from both men. Nat's heavy as lead legs tried to keep up with Matty, who despite being three inches shorter than him, seemed to have a faster paced walked and longer stride. Even when he wasn't ill, Nat noticed that Matty walked faster than he did when he didn't have Anna hanging off his arm to keep him walking with the rest of them. He often wondered if there wasn't more going on between the pair, but Anna had a boyfriend, but Matty seemed single. Sometimes though, he seemed awfully close, but Nat didn't want to pry and ask questions that might upset his friends.

They were nearing an exit to the building when another coughing fit hit, and Nat nearly keeled over, were it not for Matty's arms holding him up. Once it subsided, Nat smiled at him as he was released and continued walking, this time Matty keeping pace with him. "Thank you for this, even though you're going to be late for your next class,"

"I don't mind. Plus, Anna will worry too much if no one made sure you got home. She always worries too much over her friends." He smiled in a way that told Nat he was remembering something. "She was grounded once because she didn't tell her Dad where she was going and ended up staying the night over at my house while I lay in bed with the flu."

"You knew each other as kids?" Nat asked, snuggling down into his coat, catching Anna's scent on the scarf around his neck as he nuzzled down into it.

"Didn't she tell you? We grew up next door to each other."

The ginger haired male shook his head. "She mentioned you two went to the same high school, I didn't think you had grown up together."

"She's a few months older than me. Her Dad hated her being friends with me, but we always thought it was because her parents and my mother didn't get along. Then when prom day came, and I wanted to ask Anna to go with me, my Mom told us the reason why our families didn't get along."

Nat listened intently, allowing Matty to open his car door for him. Watching the other male, he never noticed just how similar their smiles were. Then it hit him. "You're not...?"

Matty chuckled, nodding his head as he pulled out of the student parking lot. "Her Dad couldn't keep his dick in his pants," he sighed softly, running his hand through his brown hair. "I take after my mother too much for it to be noticeable, but yeah, Anna is my big sister. Our parents just couldn't stop us from being friends. It was weird at first, but we don't notice it so much anymore. We never actually dated, but we were branded as geeks at high school, so you know, it wasn't like with were the cream of the crop for students to want to go out with us."

Nat chuckled softly. "Try being a bisexual geek. With a twin."

"You scored Evander. I wish I could find someone like him, only, you know, a girl version," Matty replied, smiling brightly and helping Nat out of his car and to his apartment building.

After another coughing fit, Nat patted his friend on the back. "Well, you know, there's no harm in being gay. There are some really delicious guys at college."

Matty laughed, shaking his head at the other's reply. "No thanks, Nat, I'm golden."

Evander was situated on the couch when the pair walked in. He quickly flew up and over to his boyfriend, noticing the state he was in. His fingers, soft and tender wandered over Nat's face while he spoke soft and tender little words to his love, worried over what was wrong with him.

"Anna sent him home," he informed Evander when the smaller male looked up at him. "Make sure you wrap him up warm in bed. I have to get back to class, but Anna said she'll be around later to make food and bring his homework."

"Will you be coming too?" Evander asked, nodding to everything Matty had said.

"Maybe. Jamie might visit too. You know us, always looking out for one another. You take care of him, all right?" He leaned down and placed his own goodbye kiss to both Evander and Nat's cheek, before waving and leaving. "Maybe one day, Nat, I'll take you up on that offer," he added, before closing the door behind himself.

Frowning at Nat curiously while stripping him out of his coat, Evander wondered what the comment meant. "What was that all about?"

Nat smiled weakly up at him, allowing the brunet to lead him to their bedroom. "It's a math geeks thing, don't worry, my precious."

Answers from the Great Beyond

"The blonde one?"

"Vat of jello. Green jello."

Theo made a hissing noise, contemplating the reply his brother gave him. Pulling off another piece of the pretzel he was eating, he casually popped it into his mouth and allowed his gaze to wander over the people gathered in the park on the warm, spring Sunday morning. Eyes fell onto a young auburn haired girl, jogging, wearing very form fitting clothes, taking note of the way the fabric of her black shorts clung to her body. Motioning to her with the hand that held the half eaten pretzel, he glanced up to his twin that sat on his left. "That one?"

"Her?" Nat replied, musing over the sight. Adjusting his seated position on the back of the bench, sitting higher than his older brother, he pondered his reply, tilting his head back to let a handful of jellybeans tumble into his mouth. "I see a beach scene. With another girl," he replied while still chewing on the contents of his mouth.

"Ooohhh...What sort of girl?" Theo asked, sounding interested.

"The blonde one," he chuckled, swallowing the food in his mouth.

At this, Theodore pouted, smacking his twin's leg playfully. "You're turning gay," he warned, waggling an accusing finger at his sibling. "Next thing I know, you'll be cooing over drapery and eating food with names like 'La fettucini in the entrails of a western island wren, topped with grated sealion'. I can't believe my own brother would rather tip a vat of green jello over a hot girl, than go up and ask her out for coffee."

Grin curled at Nat's lips. This was becoming some kind of pastime for the pair of them now they were in college. They were both in a relationship, but they'd come out every Sunday to sit in the park and watch the people go by; or more importantly watch the girls go by, and discuss what they thought about them. Neither of the twins would actually talk to these people, since they had no need to go out on dates. Lila was in her fifth month of pregnancy, and Evander was still as wonderful as ever. It was just something that the two boys did to pass the time while waiting for Evander to finish his weekend job.

"Where did you get the idea gay people eat food like that, Theo?" he asked, popping a couple of the brightly coloured sweets into his mouth. "Not to mention, it sounds nothing like the food Evander eats."

"That because Dandylion eats horse food."

"Those granola bars are quite tasty."

With an over acted heavy sigh, Theo slumped forwards, hand falling over his face. He shook his head, letting out a dramatic groan. "I've lost him. My little brother; gone forever."

Beaming down at his overreacting twin, Nat reached out and patted him on the head. "Oh well. You've still got Juliet."

"I can't talk about girls with Julie!" he whined in reply.

"Lila?"

Slumping down on the bench, Theo munched on his pretzel. "My life is now over."

"Oh quit whining. You're going to be a Daddy soon. Maybe you'll have a boy, and you can do this kind of thing with him."

Theo shook his head, reaching over and stealing a handful of jellybeans from the bag in his brother's hand. "I doubt that. According to Lila, the baby is sitting more suited to a girl than a boy."

"You should be able to tell the gender by now though, right?" Nat asked sounding a little unsure having very little experience with babies and childbirth. Now that he was with Evander, he doubted it would have to be something he'd experience. Babies were just something he really didn't understand too well, and now had little plans in the way of having one. They just weren't for him.

"We're going to wait until it's born to see. When the baby pops out, then we'll know whether it's a girl or a boy."

Nat smiled. "So, names?"

"If it's a girl; Belle."