Very short chapter because despite it having been more than a year, it's all I could manage. Hope you enjoy anyway!
–The Store–
''What ya doing?'' Lu said, walking into the kitchen, seeing Andy sitting at the kitchen table with her eyes on the housephone halfway across the room from her.
The kitchen was bright with its yellow and white checkered floors and warm yellow painted walls, but it was overshadowed by the sadness coming from Andy.
It was Tuesday night and Lu was reminded of just how many times she had walked into the kitchen at this same time and saw Andy on the phone with her mother, forcing herself to stay quiet so they wouldn't be found out by Liz. Despite how cruelly Andrew and Liz March had said goodbye to their only daughter the last time they had seen her, Lu knew it was still hard for Andy to not have her mom call her every week to catch up.
Lu sat down across from Andy, ''sorry.''
''Why?'' Andy asked, wrapping her hands around the cup of tea in front of her.
''Just feels like it's partially my fault.'' Lu said quietly. It had been at her insistence that they had started a relationship after Andy had initially only wanted a purely physical relationship. If she would have just listened to Andy… Who knows. Andy'd still have a relationship with her parents, that was for sure. Lu tried not to think too long of where she would be.
Jonas had said that he was fine with them maintaining a physical relationship as long as he didn't know about that. Lu probably would have married him if Andy hadn't relented. She wouldn't be a few months away from becoming a mom again, unless it was to her and Jonas' baby. Lu sighed. It was moments like these, moments where she remembered how differently her life could have turned out if it hadn't been for Andy taking a leap of faith, that she wanted to bury her body against Andy's, breathe in her scent, hear her heartbeat and feel their babies kicking, and just remind herself that she was home.
''It's not. Not even a little bit,'' Andy said, grabbing Lu's hand. Her other hand went to the side of her head – the bruise had faded but there was a small scar that peeked out from behind her hairline. ''It's just their small-mindedness.''
''I hope they come around,'' Lu said, trying to offer Andy some semblance of hope.
''Fat chance of that,'' Andy said, leaning back in her chair and sipping her tea resignedly.
They had been able to move on from the similar situation thirty years earlier because she had conformed; she had started dating Les, had married him, had his children. Nothing about her life reminded them of her attraction to women and it would've remained that way if Liz hadn't looked too closely at her and Lu and had made assumptions. It was their own fault.
''Three parents and the babies only have two grandparents,'' Lu said. She hadn't met Milo's parents and didn't expect to any time soon, but hoped that they would be able to make up for the hole left behind by her own mother's passing, her father's unwillingness to stick around, and now Andy's parents bailing.
Even with Eve's initial displeasure when meeting Andy and her comments about the possible children Milo and Andy would have being ''all mixed up'' she seemed genuinely thrilled that she was going to have more grandbabies to spoil and Andy knew that Philip and Eve Morton would make great grandparents. At least until… ''And they are going to run for the hills as soon as these kids start talking and mention that they have two mothers.''
''Do you think Milo is going to tell them about us?'' Lu asked. She didn't see how it could be avoided. She was going to be at every birthday, every holiday, she was going to be home whenever they came over, they were going to either assume she was a live-in-nanny or figure out the truth real soon.
''If he does they are going to call child protective services before he even finishes his sentence,'' Andy said. It was a joke but it was also what she genuinely feared. It had been hard enough to convince Milo that them doing this all three together was a good idea and she was hoping that his parents wouldn't talk him out of their arrangement.
At the very least Milo's brother had been supportive. Randall Morton had agreed to become the babies' godfather alongside Lu as their godmother. There had been a raised eyebrow here or there but he had seemed genuinely supportive of their co-parenting plan and had kept his judgements quiet.
Lu looked down at her hands, feeling like she was the reason for this predicament they were in.
Andy leaned over to Lu, raising her chin so they could look each other in the eye. ''I'm glad they are going to have you as one of their mothers,'' she said, giving Lu a peck on the lips. She groaned as her beeper started beeping, ''three parents and these kids are gonna be lucky if even just one of us makes it to the parent-teacher meetings.''
Milo was so uncomfortable it was palpable. Lu couldn't blame him, her joining him on this adventure hadn't been the plan; Andy was needed to help prepare Lizzy's bedroom at Les' house and Milo had only slightly hesitated when Lu had proposed she would go with him to the sex shop to help him navigate and get what he needed.
They were stood by him BMW, in retrospect maybe not the best choice of car for the neighborhood they were in. Lu had decided to take him back to her old neighborhood, a shop where she knew they had exactly what Milo would need – the shop where Lu had picked up the strap-on she had used with Andy – and a shop where there was little chance they would run into any of Milo's patients.
''Are you ready?'' She asked.
Milo eyed the building. It wasn't his usual scene. Not only because it was a sex shop, but also just the general atmosphere. It was dark, grungy, the kind of building where you wouldn't be surprised if you saw a big crack in the wall. It intimidated him, not that he would ever admit that. He was close to just getting back in his car and going home.
''The longer we wait out here, the higher the chance that someone will recognize you,'' Lu said, snapping him out of his thoughts. Begrudgingly he walked toward the door, holding it open for her before stepping inside, taking a deep breath and thanking his genes that he wasn't prone to blushing.
Inside the building it was surprisingly big, and the owners had taken advantage of every square inch they had, filling it with shelves full of items Milo would never have been able to conceive of, as well as using the vertical space. A sheet had been hung in front of the shopwindow, displaying the name of the store as the neon sign above it only half worked, it effectively blocked out all sunlight and the view to any possible onlookers. Every other light flickered as they made their way deeper into the store, Lu guiding Milo past all the vibrators, costumes, and bottles of generic strawberry-flavored lube.
They came to a halt at one of the aisles. It was like a shoe store, boxes at the bottom with the product, and on a shelf at just below eye-level all the different dildos were displayed.
Milo took a few steps into the aisle, and, overwhelmed with all the choices, looked back at Lu for guidance. He couldn't help but be curious, ''is this where you…''
Lu nodded, pointing out the one she had bought for her and Andy to use. Milo nodded approvingly, Andy hadn't given much detail but he was glad to find out she had been honest and not just downplaying it for his ego.
''Okay, so… it needs a flared base,'' Milo started, knowing that Lu already knew that, ''so that immediately eliminates,'' he looked around, ''none of these.''
''The ones without a flared base are in the next two aisles,'' Lu informed him. When she had come here just a few weeks prior she had scoped the place and was sure she could easily find whatever they needed.
''Two aisles?'' Milo asked in disbelief.
''There are a lot of varieties,'' Lu shrugged, ''with vibrating element, without vibrating element, with suction cups, realistic and unrealistic, different colors, double ended ones…''
''Double ended ones?''
''They're mostly… just for… lesbians… I guess.'' It came out slowly as Lu looked away, hoping to move on from that particular subject. It was fun to shop for Milo with him, making him uncomfortable, but putting the spotlight back on her own sex life with Andy… it wasn't on Lu's agenda.
''Have you and Andy…?'' Milo asked, though he figured from Lu's demeanor that the answer was a resounding yes.
''Once. Long time ago,'' Lu said. Penetration with anything other than their fingers was still somewhat rare, the lime green/purple ombre double ended dildo they had used had been their first foray into the territory. She pushed past her uncomfortableness and focused on Milo, ''but, we're here for you,'' she said, ''so, what color do you want?''
''Color?'' Milo asked, snapping back into the present, pushing the image of Lu and Andy together to the back of his mind. He coughed, ''I don't think the color matters much, considering… you know, where it's going.''
Lu stifled a giggle. ''True.'' She walked past Milo deeper into the somewhat narrow aisle, ''what size?'' She grabbed one that was similar in size she had used on Andy.
Milo shook his head, ''the smallest one they have.'' He took a glance at all the models they had and they all seemed too big.
Lu slightly rolled her eyes and turned away, finding one that may be closer to what Milo was looking for. ''What about this one?'' She asked, showing it to him, and, quick to shut down any protests, she said, ''I doubt we'll find one much smaller than this one.''
Milo looked at it, taking a deep breath.
''How do you feel about veins?'' Lu asked, the one she was holding seemed like it could be molded from a real one, ''circumcised?''
Milo couldn't look away from it, his anxiety building and his cool temperament somewhat slipping away. ''The less realistic the better, I think.''
Lu held it by its base, watching how floppy it was, or rather, wasn't. ''It does have a nice firmness to it, don't you think?'' She looked back up at Milo.
Milo stood speechless for a second, ''I don't know, and I don't care.'' He took a step back when Lu attempted to hand it to him, putting his hands up, ''I don't need to hold it.''
Lu sighed. ''Look, I know that you aren't big on this,'' she motioned to the stuff around her, holding the dildo in a hand like it was any other ordinary object, ''but can't you even pretend to care. I'm trying to find something for you to make sure you have a good time.''
''Really?'' Milo asked, ''you suggested to Andy that we do this, without you I wouldn't be in this mess, and now you're asking me what I'd like to have shoved up there like it's nothing.''
Their attention was drawn away from each other by another customer slowly heading their way from the other side of the aisle, hands in his pockets, whistling softly, as if he was taking a stroll in the park on a bright, sunny Sunday morning.
Milo grabbed Lu by the arm, dragging her away and through the curtain masking what was going on in the opposite aisle. ''The rule was that we would stay out of-'' he broke off his sentence when he actually took in his surroundings and saw where they had ended up.
It was a big screen, clearly mid film. There was a small table in the corner where the video was displayed with its price, and headphones with a lock on them, a buck fifty to have audio to accompany the video. The air was thick with the smell of semen mixed with cheap lemon-scented cleaning supplies which – instead of masking the smell of semen – mixed into one of the more disgusting scents either had ever come across despite being doctors.
Milo gagged slightly at the thought of what the room would look like under UV light.
Lu pretended that she didn't notice how Milo's gaze lingered on the large screen displaying an FMM threesome, a moment of intrigue on his face which made her frown. She pulled away from his grip, redirecting his attention to her. ''I didn't suggest that you two would do that,'' she said to him, ''it just…''
''It just what?'' Milo asked. ''How'd she get the idea if you didn't suggest it?''
Lu hesitated, not wanting Milo to know how much the thought of Andy fucking him turned her on, so much so that her subconscious had shown it to her. ''I had a dream…''
''A dream? Of that? I have to give up my dignity because you 'had a dream'?''
''Give up your dignity?'' Lu asked, thinking it to be an outrageous statement. ''It's your wife making love to you in a way you're not used to, it's not like we're cutting off your penis and sowing you a vagina…'' she shook her head. ''Have you ever considered that you might actually enjoy it?''
Lu's words took Milo aback. He strongly doubted it would feel like making love in the moment. ''Enjoy it?''
''Yes, enjoy it,'' Lu said, ''why do you think I'm showing you all these options? I didn't suggest this to take away your dignity, Andy doesn't want to do this to… I don't even know what you're coming up with reason wise, we want you to enjoy this. Try something you haven't before and maybe you'll like it.''
Milo stood speechless. He knew logically that their reasons for wanting to try weren't nefarious but it had still felt demeaning.
Lu looked away, wanting to get out of the stench without making Milo feel awkward in the openness of the store. ''In my experience the veins are nice,'' she said quietly, ''bulbous tip, and look,'' she held up the dildo to show Milo just how firm it was, ''the perfect level of firmness.'' She could see he was about to speak up, ''and no, we're not going to find one smaller than this one.''
Milo sighed, ''okay.''
Lu followed him back into the store and put the dildo back in its place, grabbing Milo a box with one that hadn't been groped by strangers and followed him to the till. ''We're having Chinese for dinner tonight,'' she informed him, ''you're paying.''