"Six and a half months," Ansell said. At her look he grinned and nodded. "Luhpyne pregnancies are shorter than human ones, darling. 'Course this will be a half-human child so it could be a little longer but I doubt it. You only have five months and a few days to go before Junior pops out."
"Holy shit, are you for real?" Lacey's shock was obvious on her face. "Oh hell. We don't have a lot of time to get a baby room ready on both sides of the Veil, and yes I want one on both sides so that means we will need to find a home on the other side and … " She rubbed her temples. "Oh hell. There is so much to do."
"And you don't need to do any of it," he said. "We have a place on the other side of the Veil. It's on Zhubin's parents' land, out near a little pond with a dock with a cute little boat you can row around in. It's well inside the borders and yet far enough away from them that they wouldn't be there every day. And I know, for a fact, his mother is in there getting it suitable for a woman's presence. Here all we need to do is some online shopping and then me and Z spend a couple hours putting whatever you buy together."
Lacey grinned and then began to giggle. "Oh, honey, you have obviously never assembled anything together, have you? Trust me, babe, at times it is far more trouble than it's worth. You will be spending more than a couple hours doing it, I'm sure."
"Not if the items are purchased from a place that doesn't translate their instructions into every known language before getting it translated into English. We buy from a reputable place and, if all else fails, make them come in and put it together. Besides, I have put stuff together and I actually don't mind it. Zhubin on the other hand should never be left alone with anything that has more than two pieces that snap together."
"Really? And why is that?" Now she had to know. Ansell was sneaky like that. He knew that her curiosity would never let her leave a puzzle unsolved so now she simply had to know why Zhubin should never be left with puzzles or things that needed assembly.
He shrugged, dragging out the moment of telling her. He would tell her, eventually, she just had to wait for him to feel the moment was right to impart whatever he knew. Harassing him didn't work, just made him dig in his heels longer. Finally he looked at her and grinned. "Zhubin has a hate-on with your world's instructions of anything. Says that it looks like some foreigner translated it from another foreign language before passing to another foreigner for another translation before going to someone whose first language wasn't English for the final translation into English. So he never reads them. Thus how we ended up with a coffee table that was supposed to be a desk."
"God you are so right there. You are so completely and totally right there. I swear that I think that he's right about it all. I think that they hire engineers to create the template and then they ask someone else to come in from another country to put it to words and then from there it gets convoluted time and again. Weird, right?"
"Personally I don't see it," Ansell told her. "I have zero problems with any sort of instructions. Z says that I've got a twisted mind so I can work through all the weirdness. You don't want to know what I said to that, especially with Junior in the room eavesdropping. But let's just say that it wasn't anatomically possible for any being in any realm to achieve."
She snickered. "Well I think that it's seriously funny because you can do it and he can't. I know that I couldn't do it. I hate trying to put things together. I've never been very good at all in putting things together. I have always sucked at putting things together I guess that's why I love to work puzzles so that I can overcome that inability to put things together."
"Yeah, I suppose." He shrugged and wrinkled his nose. "Though the coffee table was likely his best project, it was also his last. After that he got everything preassembled no matter the cost. Which I just don't get. Won't even let me put together a bookshelf anymore, says I'm way too happy at it. Now, tell me, does that make any sense at all?"
"Yeah, it kinda does." Lacey was giggling now. She couldn't seem to help herself. "I mean come on. There has to be something that he's better at than you are that drives you nuts, right? Shooting maybe?" No they both were amazing shots. "Well something, I'm sure. Maybe that's why he won't let you do it?"
"Cooking is likely the only thing that comes right to mind, though I'm sure he has a list." He grinned. Shaking his head Ansell rolled his eyes. "But yeah, he's definitely a lot better off in the kitchen than I am. I can make the basics but have zero interest in getting all fancy with a meal. He seems to just naturally have that gene that lets him know, without tasting mind you, what to add to create something amazing taste-wise to any dish."
"Yeah and that's just weird by the way." Because she couldn't cook to save her ass. "But at least he can cook. It will keep us all well-fed and I'm sure by now he's already trying to figure out the best diet to put me on so that Junior here will get everything he needs." She patted her belly gently. She was honestly very happy about the pregnancy, she was just scared shitless about it as well.
"Exactly, he actually thinks of that stuff. Me, I figure, it's food, what's the big deal?" He looked at her, eyes wide. "Really, I'm asking here, what is the big ass deal? If you're eating all your food groups in a nice balanced manner for a human, wouldn't that be enough?"
"Well I have to also ensure that I'm eating enough for a Luhpyne baby as well," she said softly. "And since I honest-to-goodness don't know what to eat to ensure that our child gets all that he needs, I'm glad that someone is looking after me and my diet."
"Meat," he said and shrugged. "Luhpynes are pretty simple beasts at heart. Give us a nice thick, juicy and bloody steak and we're happy. Throw in a beer and we'll pretty much lick your boots. Not really, since that's gross and the Gods only know where they were or what you stepped in but you know what I mean."
"I do but I seriously doubt that a growing babe needs beer. The meat I can understand, but I don't think so on the beer." Lacey did however laugh and added, "However if I recall correctly you have a fascination with my ankles, calves and thighs, right?" she asked with a smile. "And everything between, right?"
"As long as you are naked, yes." He nodded. Grabbing one of her legs he bent over it and nibbled on her ankle as he bared it, laughing as he did so. "A little light on the meat, but I'll make do," he teased with a grin her direction.
"Yes, I happen to be naked with you as often as I possibly can because you always make life so very, very interesting. I happen to truly love when you get creative with your nibblings and touchings. I happen to truly love when you touch me, and nibble on me."
"You just plain love me," he said, sitting up once more. Leaning in he hugged her close and pressed a light kiss to her cheek. "You can admit it, no one else is here to hear you," he added in a not-even-close-to-a-whisper tone. "Hell, you should stand up and announce it for the world to hear. No, don't do that, cause then I'd have to let you go and I much prefer you in my arms even if you are dressed."
"Oh, honey, I don't care who knows how much I love you. It's pretty obvious to anyone that has ever seen me with you or with Zhubin that I'm utterly smitten." Well now that she'd accepted their bond, that was. Now that she had accepted them and stopped running everyone could see what these men meant to her.
"That is true. I've heard a few comments on just how tightly we're wound around your little finger so obviously it's mutual." Pressing a kiss to her lips, he settled back with a grin. "Not sure how wound around your pinky we might be but I do know I'd do anything for you. Well, almost anything, I still have a bit of pride left after all."
"I know that you do, honey. It just means that I would do anything for you just as you would do anything for me. Just as Zhubin would do anything for us as well. You know it as well as I do. Admit it honey." Lacey knew, just as Ansell did, that they would all move the very Earth for each other.