Chapter 21 – Chicken Pox and LGBT Events

Henry sighed as he scratched himself endlessly at his skin, making it go red. He cursed himself for hanging around small children – even though it had been just for one day – when they were suffering with chicken pox! That's right, Henry had chicken pox and he was barring himself off from his friends, family and even from Gordon; even though Gordon didn't know yet. He didn't want anyone else suffering this infernal disease. He hissed in annoyance and scratched at his skin then realised he shouldn't have. He clutched at the bedspread, be careful not to rip it. He needed to something so that he wouldn't have to scratch. He had been a little grateful that Gordon had gone to work before Henry had woken up and found out about his chicken pox. So, he'd then phoned up work and told him he wouldn't be in for a few days. So, now here he was...in his and Gordon's bedroom, scratching himself until the damn spots went away.

The phone rang. He leaned over and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Henry. It's me." said a familiar voice.

"Oh, Gordon."

"Henry, what's going on? Why aren't you in work?"

"I...have chicken pox." He mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I have chicken pox."

There was a pause from the other end of the phone. Henry wasn't sure if Gordon had hung up or not.

"Y-you have...Henry, why didn't you say?"

"I didn't know until you were gone."

"My god, look I'll come by later—."

"No, Gordon. It's fine. You stay there for your lunch." Henry really didn't want Gordon catching this. He didn't want his husband suffering like he was, in fact he didn't want anyone getting this.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'll be fine."

"Okay, I'll be straight home after work."

"Okay, sausage. Love you."

"Love you more, babe. Bye."

"Bye." Henry hung up the phone. He fell back against the sheets and pillows. How the hell was he supposed to keep Gordon away when Gordon wanted to take care of him? Henry had to think of something quick before Gordon came back.

Thomas laughed at a little joke Toad had slipped in during Oliver and Molly's conversation and looked over at the door as Gordon came in. "Hey, Gordon!"

The older man looked over and waved. "Hey, Thomas. One second." He made his order and then headed over to their table. "Hey, everyone."

"Are you okay, Gordon?" Oliver asked.

"Not really. I've just found out Henry's got the chicken pox."

"Chicken pox?"

"Yeah, so if you haven't had it, chances are you're going to get it."

"Ah! So, what are you going to do?" Percy asked.

"I'm not leaving him like this. It's my job to look after him."

"But Gordon you might catch the pox."

"I had it when I was little. I'll be fine." Gordon said, waving him off. "I've only got two more hours left of work so I'll be heading home as soon as I can."

"Well, let's hope he gets better soon."

"You're not the only one." Gordon grumbled.

Since Gordon had made his phone call, Henry had received texts wishing him to get better. He automatically assumed that Gordon had told their friends. He liked that about Gordon, soppy sod that he was. Henry was soon lying in bed, finishing off a small bowl of onion blossom when he heard the front door open. Henry looked over at the clock on the bedside table. It was the usual time Gordon came home. Henry just hoped to god that he would stay a good distance from him. Henry sat up when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Shit!" Henry muttered.

The door opened and Henry watched as Gordon came in.

"Hey, Henry." Gordon said, he was holding a white pharmacy bag in his hand. He leaned against the door frame. Henry tried his best to hold back his whimper.

"Hey, Gordy."

"How's the pox?"

"Itches like hell." Henry said, trying to ignore the itchiness in his arms.

"Awww, poor thing." Gordon pouted. "Here I've got some things for you." And he moved forwards but Henry shuffled back, alarmed.

"G-Gordon, what are you-?"

"I'm here to look after you." Gordon said, as though it was the most obvious thing ever.

Henry's eyes widened. "But—you can't."

Gordon raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"

"B-because I said so." Henry said, backing away out of the bed.

The older man sighed. "Henry, don't be stupid."

"No! Gordon, please. Just get yourself out of the room – or better yet – out of the house."

"Henry, stop being silly and come here!"

Henry bounded out of the bed as Gordon leaped for him. Henry backed up to the window and watched as his husband sat up on the bed where he had landed ungracefully. Blue eyes met green. They stared at one another. Then Gordon got to his feet, sighed and left the room. Henry watched Gordon's hurt filled face. The nature lover bit his lip. Maybe he'd been a little too harsh on Gordon. But surely Gordon must realise that Henry didn't want him to have this damn chicken pox. He crept towards the door and looked out along the landing. It was quiet and Gordon was nowhere in sight. Maybe he was downstairs. He stepped out of the doorway and headed towards the stairs...only to be grabbed by a pair of strong arms and hoisted off the floor. Henry yelped and looked round to see Gordon, smiling up at him.

"G-Gordon?" Henry gasped. "Put me down. Please."

"No, now will you please keep still, Henry?"

"Gordon, please. I don't want you to get this." The green eyed male was then dumped on the bed. He was turned so that he was on his back and his arms above his head, his wrists pinned down by Gordon's grip.

"Henry...I completely understand as to why you want me to stay away. But you don't have to worry. I had chicken pox when I was young."

Henry blinked. "You did?"

Gordon nodded. "Yes and also, it's my job as your husband to look after you. 'In sickness and in health', remember?"

A small pink tinge came to Henry's cheeks. "Oh, sausage, you're turning into a big ol' softie."

It was then Gordon's turn to go pink, but he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Henry's lips. The tinge on Henry's cheeks became a little more pink. As Gordon pulled away, Henry began to shift under him.

"What's wrong?"

"It just...itches." Henry hissed, as he shifted on the bed.

Gordon smiled. "Well, we can't have that, can we? Come on, I'll give you a good scratch and then I'll rub this Calamine lotion on you."

"That would be great." Henry said, with a smile.

"Good." The silver haired stated. "Now, where does it itch?"

Two years ago, the island of Sodor had passed their rites of LGBT community and today was a small anniversary. So at one of Sodor's sporting grounds, a group had decided with the mayor of Sodor that they would host a LGBT and charity event. They would contact local bands and bands from the mainland to come and perform. Posters had been blazed in stations, in schools, in the shopping centres, nearly everywhere. It was also placed at the bottom of the poster for guests to dress up as anything they wanted. Edward was just leaving his college after his lessons for the day, when he was given one of the small leaflets sized posters by one of the Art students. He accepted it, placed it on top of his files of paperwork and left to the small car park that the college provided. He hopped inside his car and looked at the leaflet. A thought struck Edward. Would everyone he knew be able to come along and support the event? It was worth a try and he knew that everyone would be willing to go as they needed something to bring up their spirits. Besides Edward needed to think about what he would dress up as for the event.

In every corner of the Sodor stadium, music was blasted out, almost deafening. Gordon walked round the stadium grounds, looking at the crowd as they hurried into the main staging area to find a spot. He smiled and looked round behind him.

"Come on, Henry! We need to get a good view."

"You mean, you just want a good view of my view behind." Henry said, a little disgruntled.

Gordon watched as his husband came over, wearing a white nurses outfit with a short skirt and shes with a – thankfully – small heel. Gordon was wearing a blue shirt with a red tie, dark pants and a long white coat with a stethoscope around his neck. The older of the two smiled and wrapped his arms around Henry's waist.

"Well, so, what if I do? Can't I admire my husband's body?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "Yes, you can. But behind closed doors."

Gordon scoffed. "Fat chance of that happening."

Henry sighed and reached up to pull the coat off his husband's shoulders. "Give me the coat."

"What? But if I do then it'll ruin the whole effect!" Gordon squawked, indignantly.

"You'll still be wearing the stethoscope. Come on, sausage."

Gordon's cheeks went red at the mention of the nickname but gave the coat to his lovers anyway. He slipped it on.

"How do I look?" the green eyed male asked.

Gordon smiled. "As handsome as always, Henry." and he winked.

Henry smiled. As they walked into the crowd, they noticed a familiar face or rather two familiar faces. One of them was Edward, who was wearing a black short sleeved top with a sky blue waistcoat with skinny jeans and converses and he wore a blue fedora on his head. Beside him, and Gordon couldn't believe it, was James wearing also a black sleeveless shirt but with a red waist coat with gold lining. He was also wearing tight leather trousers that showed off...far too much with black ankle heeled boots. On top of his head, he wore a glittery red topped hat and wore red eyeliner.

"Hey, you two!" James called as he waved them over.

"What does he look like?" Henry muttered.

"He looks like a bloody stripper!" Gordon complained.

As they met the other two, James took a good long look at Henry. "Jeez, Henry, what happened to you? Gordon, did you force him to do this?"

Henry scowled. "I could say the same about you. You look some stripper-gram!"

James rolled his eyes. "It is fancy dress, Henry."

"Then that's my excuse."

"But not Gordon's?" Edward teased.

"Oh, come on, who's side are you on, Edward?"

The other three laughed. Gordon looked round at the crowd to see if anyone else they knew was around. "You two seen any of the others?"

"No, I haven't." said Edward. "We came a little early then expected."

"Hmm, well, let's keep an eye out of them, for now, we can enjoy the music." said Henry. He breathed in to allow four drag queens to pass him. "Suddenly, I didn't feel so under dressed."

Gordon chuckled and they all leaned against the front barrier as they listened to the music.

Later on, Thomas, Emily, Percy and Gator turned up and joined the others at front of the stage where they watched most of the acts that had been asked to host the event. Half an hour in, Percy and Gator had gone off to buy drinks for everyone. Percy was standing by the gate of the main stage waiting for Gator to come back. Percy watched as the spectators moved off out to the other staging areas or tents of food or crafts and such. As Percy looked over to see if Gator was coming, he heard a voice.

"Percy?"

Percy froze as he recognised the voice. It was easily familiar. He slowly turned to see Duck, wearing black jeans and a top with a glittered green jacket. Duck smiled at Percy and moved closer to him.

"Hello, Percy. It's been a while."

Percy did nothing but stare at his ex. Duck gave him a small sad smile.

"I see...you're still hurt after...what happened."

Suddenly, Percy's eyes hardened. "What do you expect, Duck? You went behind my back and cheated on me with...with-."

Duck sighed. "I am sorry, Perce. But I didn't have the heart to tell you about...about what happened."

"How? Why?"

"Because you-."

"Hey, Percy!"

Percy looked round to see Gator holding four bottles of fizzy drinks and a plastic bag on his wrist. The older man grinned.

"Do you think you could grab something? It's getting a bit difficult to readjust my grip."

"Sure." Percy said, cheerily as he moved forward and grabbed three of the bottles from Gator but not before giving him a small peck on the cheek. Gator then glanced over to Duck, who was staring at the two. He looked almost like a goldfish.

"Hello, Duck. You having a good time?"

Duck didn't speak for a few seconds. When he finally closed his mouth, did he speak. "Y-yes, I'm fine...sir."

"Good. We best get moving back, Perce, the others will be waiting."

"All right." And the two sidled past Duck, who was staring at them, looking heartbroken. But Percy didn't care. He was with someone new, now, and he was not going to let Duck ruin it for him.

"Where have you two been?" Edward asked, as Gator and Percy returned to the front of the stadium.

"Just been getting food." explained Gator.

"You'll never guess who I ran into." Percy muttered. Everyone looked at Percy, unsure of who or what he was talking about. Then the penny dropped with Emily.

"Oh," she said. "And what did he have to say for himself?"

"Didn't want to hear it." Percy said, taking a sip from the bottle.

"Yes, well, don't bother with him, Perce." said Thomas. "You deserve better...and you've got Gator for that."

Percy smiled. "True to that."

Three acts afterwards, the hosts of the charity event came back on to the stage. They began to talk to the audience, asking if they were having a good time...and then asking if anyone in the audience wanted to come up on stage and sing. Almost immediately, James' hand went up and he bounced on the balls of his feet like a five year old. Thomas groaned.

"That's all, he needs." the blue eyed boy muttered. "A stage performance to boost his ego."

"Actually," said Edward. "This is something that he's been focusing on since he left school. You should hear him sing. Amazing voice, James has."

"Really?" asked Emily.

"Really. This might give him a chance to start up on his singing career. Keep him out of trouble."

One of the hosts, a dark skinned girl with blonde highlights in her hair, came over to James and pointed. "How about you, sweetheart? Come on up."

A big grin came up on James' lips and he bounded over the barrier railing and up the stage stairs. He was met with a round of applause but the loudest was from Edward and the rest of the group. James smiled and the hosts came over to James.

"What's your name, honey?"

"James."

"All right, and where do you live James?"

"Here on Sodor." this was met with a cheer and James waved out to the audience.

"Well, James. Seen as we've got you up here, is there a song you have in mind to sing."

"I do actually. Um, do you have Eduard Romanyuta's 'I Want Your Love'?" (A/N: You might want to look this song up on youtube so you can hear the song as you read this part.)

The hosts checked with the sound tech and it was agreed that James could sing the song. The music started, thundering and booming the speakers as the bass kicked in. but Edward wasn't entirely focused on the music, he was watching James as he began to slowly dance to the music. The red head was dragging his hips to the rhythm of the music and threw his head from side to side, his eyes closed. He raised the mic to his lips as he sang out a trilling note and began to sing:

Hey, boy

remind why we ain't together

we got the magnetic connection

The red head was coaxing the crowd, dipping his hips low and sounding sultry. Edward's eyes widened as his boyfriend strutted across the stage, singing.

"What were you saying about this not being an ego boost?" asked Gordon, over the music but Edward didn't answer. He watched as the red head rolled his hips in circles again.

moving so fast, let's take it slow

ain't gonna let ya let me go

the picture that you're painting

got me all anticipatin'

oh!

James' stripper like dancing chanced into his foot stamping on the stage and fist pumping as the beat changed for the chorus, the audience joined in, jumping in their places.

nothing can steal your thunder

sky high while you pull me under

'cause you got what I want

what I want

What I want, want, want, want,

James strutted to the left hand side of the stage, singing to any random member of the crowd and the moved off to the middle to the do the same, swaying his hips and sending a small wink to someone. He then moved to the side of the stage where Edward and the others were standing near. He looked at Edward as he sang the next part and squatted down.

yeah, baby let me show ya

you got me tripping over

'cause you got what I want

what I want

what I want, want, want, want,

He moved down so that he lay on the stage, his upper body slightly hanging off the stage as he continued singing. He reached out to Edward, who was staring at James, fascinated. He pointed to him as he sang the next part.

I want your love

I want your love

I want your love

I want your love

Edward did his best to hide his reddened cheeks under his fedora, hoping no one would see him.

A/N:

Hi, everyone. Not dead. Again. Sorry about the six or seven month wait but I've had laptop issues again so I had to get a new one and it took me a long while as I've been distracted. Silly excuse I know but shit happens. Also there's been a lot going on since January last, but I've been able to write new fanfictions in some notepads, I've had tucked away but not much on this fanfic as it was all on my laptop and on several USB's. Anyways, just to let you know it'll be a while before I update again because I'm going on holiday, in two days time, for two weeks, but I WILL be doing more writing for this fanfic don't worry.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Sorry again for the LONG wait. Reviews are love :)

M.S.P.

Xxxx