"Sounds good to me. Will you and Zhubin enjoy the peace with me? If only for a bit? I would like to just curl up with the both of you and simply relax and let that be that. Think that we can do that?" she asked hopefully.
"Course we can," he nodded, pressing a kiss to her lips. "Food first though. I'm dying of starvation here. See, I'm practically wasting away right before your eyes. It's horrible really." He added a pout for effect with his arms held out as if showing her just how thin he was becoming by the minute.
Lacey couldn't help but laugh and shook her head. "I love you but you are a serious and total ham, you know that right? You are nowhere near wasting away, so try it on someone else," she teased.
"I am," he said, lifting his shirt and tugging at his waistband. "Look at that gap. That shouldn't be there, babe. I'm wasting away and it's a horrific thing." He dropped the shirt and turned her toward the kitchen, giving her a light push. "I desperately need sustenance, stat!"
Lacey couldn't stop her laughter if she tried. Shaking her head, she let Ansell drag her to the kitchen's and winked at Zhubin. "This man needs food, stat! He's wasting away right before our eyes. Even now he's fading Zhu, get him food. In a hurry. Chop-chop."
Zhubin just stared at them like they'd both grown an extra head. "I'm going to start restricting your sugar intake. And monitoring your alcohol consumption. This is seriously weird even for Ansell. And the food's on the table, sit and eat so I don't have to hear about his supposed wasting. He's just wearing jeans too big, a play to gain sympathy is all."
Lacey shot a suspicious look to Ansell. "Really now? And why in the world would you want and need to gain sympathy?" Her lips twitched to grin, he could see as he looked at her that she wanted to smile, wanted to laugh.
He gave an exaggerated gasp. "I am not looking for sympathy," he said as if horrified. "I was merely stating the facts of the situation. I happen to be starving and really, making a Luhpyne wait for food is cruel and unusual punishment in my books, damn it."
Unable to help herself, Lacey began to giggle and shook her head. "You are a crazy nut, you know that right? Silly man," she teased happily. "I adore you but that is too freaking funny. You are such a drama queen."
"And you have zero sympathy in your heart. Sad, Lacey, so sad," he said with a pout. Pulling out a chair he looked to her. "Your chair, m'lady. Let's eat before all this gets cold or Zhubin brains me with a pan. It's happened before, I wouldn't put it past him to do it again."
"It was an accident, dude." Zhubin came to the table with biscuits and set the plate down. "He comes racing around a corner just as I turn with the pan in hand. He runs right into it and says I beat him with it."
Shaking her head, Lacey spread a napkin in her lap. "Well one thing's for sure, I will never, ever be dull or bored with you guys around. Ever." She loved it too. "Which is a very, very good thing. I'm seriously happy that you guys are mine and we will keep each other busy for the rest of forever."
"And we're very happy to do it too." Zhubin smiled down at her before sitting. "Eat," he ordered.
Chapter Eleven
"You're going to end up hyperventilating if you keep sucking air like that," Zhubin told her softly. They were before the Veil and ready to go across. She would be meeting Zhubin's parents, having dinner with them, and he was trying to get her calm! "Slow your breaths, love." He cupped her face. His thumbs stroked slowly over her skin, "They are just people, Lacey. Like you and me and Ansell. They love, they laugh, they cry and they worry. Just like everyone else."
"But they are your parents," she said with frustration clear in her tone. "That's huge, Zhu. I want and I need their approval because they are such important parts of your life. Yes, we could always have a life without it but it wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable." She looked at the Veil and added, "And I am about to go through the Veil for the first time. I think I deserve to hyperventilate."
"She's right, Z," Ansell said on her other side. "Let her hyperventilate if she wants. It'll definitely leave a lasting memory with your parents. Her all blue, sweaty and practically passed out." He smiled at her and snickered evilly. "Come on, darling. They are great people, generous, open, and you'll love them. They will also adore you so quit already. Because if you pass out from all this heavy breathing you'll be thrown over one of our shoulders. Do you really want them to see you ass in the air at the first meeting?"
"Ansell," Zhubin growled. "Mom is nervous to meet you, too, Lace," he said, looking her in the eye. "She wants you to only think the best of her. She's worried that you won't like her."
"She is?" Lacey asked in awe, stopping the panic to look up at Zhubin. "Why would your mom be nervous? I adore the woman already because she birthed you, she raised Ansell. To me she's the best person on this planet, well besides the two of you that is. Why would she be nervous about meeting me?"
"You're essentially going to be her daughter-in-law," Ansell said with a strange look her way. "She's terrified you'll hate her on sight. That you'll have nothing in common. That it will be like some human marriages where the daughter-in-law feels the male's mother is in his life too much. According to Thorin she's been pacing nearly non-stop. When she's not pacing she's cleaning. When she's not cleaning she's rearranging every piece of furniture they own. Apparently he's tried to distract her but that hasn't lasted long at all. He's very annoyed." Between the shit-eating grin and the merriment on her face Lacey knew just how Thorin was trying to distract Zhubin's mother.
Zhubin snickered. "Serves him right. He's got it way too good with Mom, she needs to make him appreciate her more. If her going on a sex strike works, then hell yeah. Not that he doesn't love and adore her, or worship the ground she walks on. He does. But those two are … " He frowned.
"Sickeningly mooshy and all gooey and"-Ansell gagged-"our sex education didn't come in a classroom like yours likely did. Ours was in horrifying real-life panoramic 3D viewing."
Lacey began to laugh. She couldn't help herself. She laughed so much she began to snort and slapped her hand over her mouth, eyes dancing with mirth and delight. "Oh God. That's too funny. I happen to really like her already. All right." She took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, let's do this before I fail completely and am not able to walk through the Veil on my own. That's not something that I want." She squeezed the men's arms with hers and nodded. "Let's go, shall we?"
"Absolutely." Zhubin nodded. He hitched the bag over his shoulder higher and slid his hand down to catch hers. "Skin to skin contact works best for a first trip through. So grab Ansell's too, darling. Then we are going to walk straight ahead. We're not going to pause. We're just out for a stroll. You will likely feel the fine hairs on your body reacting but just keep moving. You never, ever want to stop partway through or let go of our hands."
"Right, well I don't think that will be an issue," she grumbled as she took their hands and held on for dear life. "All right, let's go through, shall we? I want to meet my future in laws or whatever they will be called so that we can put your mum at ease."
Squeezing her hands, they tugged on their arms and started to walk. Zhubin gave a nod to the Luhpyne parked next to the Veil and they went through. On the other side they took a few steps before stopping. "Well?" Zhubin asked, looking down at her. "You're still breathing so that's a good sign. You still want to do this more often?"
"I think that we should only do this when we have to," she grumbled and looked around. Taking in her first look at the area she gasped, "Wow," she whispered. "This place is. God, this place is spectacularly beautiful. Why in the world would you want to go to the other side when this place is so amazing?"
"Because that's where you were," Ansell said with a shrug. "Besides, it's home, it's … " He waved a hand and shrugged again.
"What our ever-so-eloquent companion is likely trying to say is we were born here, raised here so we don't see it as you do. It's like growing up in a house, you know all the rooms but you don't see them after a time because it's all so familiar," Zhubin told her.