[Sam260]

Gio sighed as he slowly submerged himself under the water, keeping just his head afloat and turning the jets onto the highest comfortable setting to massage his aching hip and back "You're not useless..." Gio said quietly, reaching a wet hand up to gently card his fingers through Sirius' hair "You hold me all night long, help me when my hip goes out... You are here for me, Sirius, in every way that counts."

Gio cupped some water in one hand and gently let the droplets fall against Sirius' head "You take care of me, just fine, babe... I don't need you to carry me around - even if the pain gets so bad... I just need *you* and I have that..." Gio scraped his nails gently across Sirius scalp and smiled gently "I love you, Si. And all four of our boys... You need to remember that you're not a superhero, no matter how much you look like one... You cannot do it all."

Misha came running through the bathroom, barking excitedly before bouncing lightly up onto the steps of the tub and snuggling close - Carlo, Julia and Silas could all be heard talking between the living room, kitchen, and front door "And our daughter, you take care of her more than I can at the moment..." Gio said with a smile.

[hockeypreg2]

Sirius cuddled Misha, pressing a kiss to her fuzzy head. "She'll always be our first baby." He leaned his head back against the tub, closing his eyes. One of the babies was kicking and he rubbed at the spot. "I'm ready to not be pregnant any longer. I want to be able to hold you in my arms for real."

Gio kept rubbing his scalp and Sirius hummed happily. "I hope they brought cake. The babies want cake."

[Sam260]

"I'm sure they brought cake..." Gio whispered, tone sounding much more relaxed as the pulsating massager jets eased and relaxed his sore hip "And I know damn well the babies don't want cake... They detest sweets... It's you who wants the cake, even if it'll upset your boys." Gio said with a laugh, lightly tugging Sirius' hair to tilt his head back so they could see one another.

"I love you, Si... And we won't be pregnant forever. Two more months for you, three more for me - hopefully - and then we can sleep in each other's arms just like we always did." Gio said quietly, blowing a kiss in Sirius' direction since they couldn't exactly reach each other from where they were sitting and positioned.

[hockeypreg2]

Sirius blew a kiss back to him, smiling at him softly. "I love you too, Gio. I can't wait until you can sleep on top of me again."

Carlo poked his head in the room, holding a plate of cake. "I wasn't sure if either of you were hungry. It's bourbon vanilla with strawberry cream filling. Silas said he got it from Marche and that Gio was familiar with them."

Sirius held out his hand. "Hand it over. Could you make some ginger tea? Or have Silas make it? I'm going to hate myself after eating this but I want it."

Carlo handed the cake over and sat on the edge of the tub, smoothing a hand over Gio's hair. "Is the bath helping?"

[Sam260]

Gio nodded and smiled up at Carlo, turning his head to kiss his best friends palm lightly "Definitely helping. Sirius added some Epsom salts and it's definitely soothing the pain." Gio said quietly and reached up to squeeze Carlo's hand lightly "If you're coming back in, could you bring me some cold water and something to eat? Non-cake related? I really didn't eat much at the party, and what I did eat ended up on Silas' kitchen floor."

Carlo grimaced and nodded "Sure, I'll bring you everything needed. No worries, my loves." Carlo said, dipping his head to kiss Gio on the forehead, as well as Sirius' forehead before he walked back out of the room.

Gio snorted and shook his head "So you'll let my best friend see me naked, but not your identical twin brother?"

[hockeypreg2]

"It's Carlo," Sirius said, letting Misha lick some cake off his fork. "You lived with him for years. I'm guessing that's not the first time he's seen you naked. Besides, there's nothing to see besides your belly at the moment. Everything else is hidden."

Sirius groaned as he ate a forkful of cake. "This is so good. Oh my god I am going to eat so much of this and the boys are going to hate it and I just don't care. When we get married we should have this cake."

[Sam260]

"Definitely not the first time we've seen each other naked..." Gio said quietly, rubbing his hand over the part of his belly that was exposed from the water "We used to have another guy... we shared him in a threesome." Gio said with a grin, looking up at Sirius "Then he moved... sad times, honestly... He was great to the both of us."

His eyebrow raised as Sirius moaned over the cake "I'm not so sure that's a good idea... You're orgasming over a piece of cake, and that's just plain weird, babe." Gio said as he reached up and dipped his finger into the frosting; he licked it off and sighed "It is good though... I'm just not a big fan of sweets, never have been." he shrugged and laid his head back.

"My ears were ringing... were you two talking about how beautiful I am!?" Carlo asked as he hop-skipped his way into the room again, setting Sirius' mug of ginger tea near him, and then the plate of food and ice water near Gio. He took a seat up against the tub wall on the floor and looked at the couple, a soft smile on his face "You two are absolutely adorable together... If I didn't know Sirius would kill me for taking a picture of this moment... I so would."

[hockeypreg2]

"If you promise to smuggle me more cake you can take pictures of anything you want," Sirius said, taking another bite of cake and moaning. "Just make sure all pictures are PG."

The babies began to move around, Sirius's belly jumping with their kicks. He groaned, not in pleasure this time, and took another bite of cake defiantly. He followed it with a sip of ginger tea, grimacing at the combination of flavors.

"I am going to hold you to that," Carlo said, pulling his phone out. He snapped a few pictures of the two of them, sitting close together the tub wall between them and eating their snacks. Gio's free hand was rubbing Sirius's head and Misha was lapping bits of cake off the plate. They were adorable and cozy and Carlo was so happy Sirius let his guard down these days. At first everything was posed and forced, but now all the pictures he took were natural and really showed the love and affection between the two of them.

[Sam260]

After another ten minutes of just sitting and enjoying the warm water, the pulsating jets, and the snacks that seemed to be in endless supply, Gio lifted a foot slowly and sighed "It's time to get out... I'm starting to prune and I really don't want to be retaining anymore water than I already am at this point." Gio said, setting his plastic china plate onto the edge of the tub. He messed with the dials to get the swishing water turned off and then he sat up, bending forward over his stomach to relieve the tension that was in his back and neck.

"I know you aren't comfortable with it, Si... But we *really* need your brother's help in getting me out of this tub... You can wrap a towel around me so he won't see me naked, but please..." Gio looked up at Sirius with pleading and pouty eyes "My mother may look spry and young, but she's 62 years old and would never be able to tug me out of here, and Carlo is just as skinny and weak as I am!"

[hockeypreg2]

"I would be offended if it wasn't true," Carlo said smoothing his hand over Gio's shoulder. "I could lift him before he was pregnant but there's no way I can do it now."

Sirius sighed, turning over so he was on his knees. He used the edge of the tub to push himself to his feet, trying to hide the wince as his back twinged in pain. "Okay, we can get Silas. Carlo, do you mind getting him?"

"My pleasure," Carlo said, getting up with an ease that made Sirius jealous.

[Sam260]

Gio wrapped a towel around his lower half, wanting to at least keep a bit of modesty about himself - he knew the towel would be absolutely drenched, but it was far better than Silas seeming him completely naked. He pulled the drain so the tub would start emptying, but it was a *very* large tub and that would take a while.

Silas came into the bathroom cautiously, followed by Carlo and Julia "Never mind us," Carlo waved his hand dismissively "We just came to see a muscle man at work." Carlo teased, licking his lips.

Silas snorted and shook his head as he walked over to where Gio and his twin were, he glanced into the tub to see that Gio had covered his lower regions and then looked to Sirius, an eyebrow quirking upward "Don't let the towel fall, eh? I don't need seeing parts of my Executive Chef that would make working with him difficult in the future..."

[hockeypreg2]

"Keep your eyes up north then," Sirius said, flicking the back of his head. "Just help him out of the tub and then you can be on your way."

Sirius hovered, biting his lip as Silas helped Gio stand up and then swept him up in his arms to get him out of the tub completely. The towel, thankfully, stayed in place and Silas took Gio into the bedroom.

"Not on the bed!" Sirius called out. "Just stand up for a moment, G." He grabbed a dry towel and hurried after them. "I can handle the rest without an audience."

[Sam260]

Gio held onto the edge of the bed when Silas set him down, his legs were shaking from them being so relaxed and he looked like he was close to collapsing. Once everyone cleared out of the room and pulled the door shut, Sirius started gently patting him dry and Gio held onto Sirius' shoulders, trying to stay upright the entire time.

"As much as I love that tub, and with all of the relief it gives me for my hip and your back..." Gio said, huffing slightly as he lifted his feet up for Sirius to dry them one by one "I just don't think pregnant people were really meant to be getting into garden tubs..." Gio slid into his sweats when Sirius held them out and then pulled a black robe over himself.

He leaned against Sirius and sighed shakily "I want to entertain my mother, talk with her and stuff... but I am so exhausted now - the party and the tub... all of it has just..." he shook his head lightly and sniffled "I'm overwhelmed and relaxed at the same time."

[hockeypreg2]

"Then rest. I can definitely handle spending some time.e with my future mother-in-law. Or you can spend some time with her up here," Sirius said, yawning himself. He held Gio up, running gentle fingers through his hair. "I don't think there is anything embarrassing out and if there is. Well, she, Carlo, and Silas already trooped through here so too late."

Sirius turned Gio so he was sitting on the bed. "No one expects either of us to be super social these days. If you want to rest, then you should rest."

[Sam260]

Gio nodded and rested his head on Sirius' stomach, gently rubbing the sides of his fiancé's hips "I know they don't... I just wish she would have come at a more... convenient time and that sounds *so* wrong but it's true." Gio whimpered and sniffled, tears tracking down his cheeks slowly "I love my mother, but the timing is so terribly bad right now."

Julia sighed as she came into the bedroom, having clearly been eavesdropping just outside the door "Giovanni Aetós, you stop this self-deprecating attitude. You are not helping yourself or your fiancé any by being so down in the dumps. You *need* your rest for those babies, and I will be here for as long as you need me to be! Even if that means I do not see my husband or your siblings for a few months - believe me, momma needs the vacation from them all right about now." Julia said as she came over and gently pushed Sirius to the side, smiling up at the big muscle man "You go on to your brother and Carlo, the two of them are preparing to leave... My son and I need to have a lengthy discussion."

[hockeypreg2]

"Yes, ma'am," Sirius said before leaning over to kiss Gio softly. "I love you, baby." He left the room, leaving Gio alone with his mother.

"Now," Julia said, turning her attention to Gio. She wiped away the tears from his face, cupping his face in her hands. "Having babies is exhausting work. I never had twins so I can only imagine how tired you are. You don't need to pretend otherwise around me or around your man. He may be a giant but he's got two babies in him as well so he knows how tiring it is. I can see it around his eyes. He's exhausted too."

[Sam260]

Gio nodded and gently tugged his mother to sit down with him on the bed, he kicked his feet back and forth lightly, holding onto his stomach "I know he is... but he carries it - the whole pregnancy - so much better than I do." Gio said quietly, tears still clouding his eyes "I've tried telling him that he needs to stop trying to do everything for me, for *us*, but he doesn't listen..."

Gio laid his head on his mother's shoulder and sniffled "He thinks he has to be a superhero, doing everything and trying to be something that I don't need - I just want my fiancé to be next to me while we go through our pregnancies... and yet he worries about me, which I understand to a point, because of all the problems I've been having... but he has his own, and he pushes them into a deep dark corner and tries to ignore them, act like everything is fine, and I just don't know how to get through to him, momma... I just don't know how."

[hockeypreg2]

"Sidney talked to me about the stubbornness of your man and his brother. We'll work on him and get him to rest," Julia promised, resting a hand on Gio's belly. "I've been with your father since I was fourteen. I know how to deal with a stubborn man. If I didn't, our marriage never would have survived this long."

Julia hugged her son. "Tell me what we need to do to get you relaxed right now. I want you to take a nap and then I will talk your man into taking a nap as well."

[Sam260]

Gio shook his head and sighed quietly "I'm pretty relaxed right now... The bath pretty much puts me into the best state of relaxation for a few hours before my hip starts hurting again... I just need to get this robe off and lay down." Gio said softy, his eyes already kind of drifting shut.

Julia helped her son out of his robe and hung it up on the bed post, she then helped him lay down and placed a pillow between his knees to keep his hips properly aligned and all "He really is more stubborn that Silas is, momma... You may have to threaten him before he'll actually listen to a word you say... Either that or you may have to use that ear-pulling technique that you use with Pa... It might be effective, given that they are almost the same height and build..."

[hockeypreg2]

"You leave him to me," Julia said, pulling the blankets over him and kissing him on the forehead. "Just rest. I'll see you when you wake up, my love. I've missed you so much."

She stayed with him for a few minutes until he fell asleep before she went to go find Sirius.

Sirius was cleaning up the kitchen, putting away the dishes and talking softly to Misha when Julia came in. He stopped talking, his hands on a mug. "Can I get you anything? I was going to make some more tea."