This chapter was inspired by the 1968 song 'Ain't That a Lotta Love' by Taj Mahal. In saying this I much more prefer his live performance of it at The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus, than his studio version.

3 – AIN'T THAT A LOTTA LOVE

Lucy and Alex were enjoying their new apartment and the amount of privacy it gave them. It all felt a little strange to her, to be living away from her parents. Even though her parents had kicked her out, and given up on her. She sighed as she entered the flat, coming home after her day at work. Alex wasn't home yet, and she dumped her bag onto their new dining table before making her way down the hallway. She stopped at the door of the second bedroom, the one that had been bothering her since they had first come to look at the place.

She heard the front door open and tried to move back towards her own bedroom, but it was too late, Alex had seen her.
"Mind-viddying a malenky malchik in that room, love?" He asked her, smirking. She frowned at him as he moved towards her, embracing and kissing her.
"Alex, is that really what that room's for? I mean you haven't put anything in it since we moved..."
"Yes" He confirmed simply.

Lucy sighed, dragging him into their own room and sitting him down on the bed.
"Alex, I've already told you that I'm not ready for children."
"Lucy-Lu, I want to have malenky one's, you know that."
"I'm not even eighteen years old!" She exclaimed.
"I know that's not really the problem" He stated, pulling her down to sit beside him, "What's really ittying on in that gulliver of yours?" Lucy became very worried then.
"It's nothing Alex!" She stated, "I'm just too young for children!"

He frowned at her and she knew she had to come clean.
"It's just something Michael told me..." She felt awful.
"Michael?" Alex questioned, still frowning.
"My ex-boyfriend" She explained, "When you were away and I began dating him, I told him a little about you. He told me that you're a sociopath, and that people with that mental illness have no grasp of the concept of empathy. He said that sociopaths are only concerned about their own well-being and that they make terrible husbands and parents..."

She couldn't figure out if Alex was more hurt or angry.
"I am a sociopath Lucy" He told her stiffly and she sighed, realising she'd upset him.
"Alex, I think it's fair to say that I know you better than anyone else, is that right?" He nodded.
"Well," She continued, "I know for a fact that you've done things in my interest before that haven't benefited you, which proves all those theories wrong...I'm just scared! I do feel extremely young to be having children, but I'm also aware of your past. I know you're not like that now but I don't know if I could handle my own child doing half the things you did!"

"Do you know what creates a sociopath?" He asked quietly.
"I thought they were born that way."
"No," He said, shaking his head, "Sociopathic behaviour can be caused from a number of veshches, odin of them being neglect from their Pee and Em."
"We're not like our parents..." She said, and Alex nodded.
"We'll be horrorshow parents Lucy-Lu; I'm trying to be a dobby veck, but I need your help." He told her.
"But what if we're not good parents? We're so young Alex! I don't know the first thing about children; I have so much that I want to do with my life before considering a baby!"

"What about what I want?" He asked with a slight tone of anger in his voice. She sighed, she hated arguing with him.
"I'm sorry, I've hurt you and I didn't mean to." She mumbled.
"Are you afraid of having malenky ones, or are you afraid of me?" He asked.
"Afraid of you?" She repeated, "Why would I be afraid of you?" He shrugged.
"Because every veck else is."

"I'm not everyone else." She told him, "It'll get better, just give it time. I'm not going anywhere Alex, I'll always be here to help you, just give me some time to wrap my head around this whole concept." He was silent for a moment, and he seemed to be struggling with the decision of whether or not to force what he wanted on her.
"I don't want to rush you; I'll wait until you're ready." He said finally.

"I do want children Alex; I'm just not sure if I want them right now." She explained and he nodded but she noticed he looked very sad.
"It has nothing to do with you!" She reassured him, "There's no one else I'd want to have children with." He smiled at that.

"I'm sorry about what I said before." She continued as he remained silent, "I know that you're not any of those things people label you as, and I'm sorry for letting that rubbish get in the way of how I see you." He smirked at her, making her blush.
"Thanks Lucy-Lu." He said, starting to become himself again.
"Thank you!" She said, "For giving me time to think about it." He winked playfully, making her laugh.

"Please don't govoreet about it again." He said, becoming serious once more.
"About what?"
"About…me being a sociopath."
"I won't, I promise." He seemed happy with that answer, leaning over to kiss her. Lucy still felt very guilty though, and wondered how she might make it up to him. She knew it wasn't fair that she'd talked about it, and the fact that she'd hurt him worried her.

A/N: I was going to have Alex using full Nadsat and saying 'Malenky Odin' but it didn't look right, so I made it 'Malenky One'.