Boxing Day

"You're...not mad at me, are you?" Amp asked as Pollux sailed over the counter to escape Castor.

"Nah. I'm not mad." Lex nonchalantly caught an 8 Ball out of the air that Castor had thrown at Pollux. "Just...give me a little warning next time, OK?"

"You mean you'd let me have a next time?"

Lex shook the 8 Ball and read it. "All signs point to Yes."

"You know I'd...I'd never do anything to hurt you, right." Amp grabbed the jade Buddha Pollux had just thrown at Castor out of the air. "I'd never force you into anything you didn't want. It's just...you're irresistible."

Lex couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Me?" He pointed to himself. "The short green guy with the bug eyes?"

"Your eyes are beautiful!" Amp told him, touching his shoulders. He stroked Lex's cheek. "And so is your skin." Amp smiled. "And you've got legs to die for." Lex blushed, not quite knowing what to say. "But, if you really don't want me touching you, just let me know."

"Amp, I was in a perfect position to kick you in the head, if I really didn't want it." Lex grabbed the recently returned strobe lamp out of the way before Castor could tackle Pollux into it. "I kinda knew maybe you should stop, but I really didn't want you to." He ducked as Pollux threw Castor at him. Amp lifted his Coke out of the way as Castor jumped up on the counter and gave a war cry before body slamming his twin. "Thing is, Amp, I'd prefer to do stuff like this somewhere more private."

"I understand." said Amp, downing his Coke. "Time and place for everything."

"It's not just that." said Lex, as the twins wrestled. "Last night, I liked what we did. It was great, really, even better than I thought it would be. But, what I really like is...um...." Lex blushed. "I like cuddling with you."

Amp's face lit up with happiness. "You do?"

"Um...yeah." Lex tapped his talons on the counter and bowed his head as he blushed. Amp's hand went under Lex's chin and gently lifted his head up so he could see Amp's face. He looked the same way he did when Lex first told him he loved him. Lex smiled back at him. They both wrapped their arms around each other as Amp stroked Lex's head.

"Hey, Amp?" Lex whispered. "When you were, you know, did I, um, do I taste OK?"

Lex could feel the vibrations in Amp's ribs as he chuckled. "Well, it's not ice cream." he said honestly. "But, it isn't bad either. It's kind of a salty tang. Really, though, the taste is affected by what the man eats."

"So...I tasted like sesame chicken?"

"You did have a bit of a soy sauce aftertaste." They both laughed and hugged.

None of them noticed when two identical blondes walked in. "Well, here it is, Penny." one was saying. "Just like I told..." She noticed the two wrestling monkeys. "Here now, what's this?"

"Hi...." They said in unison, looking up at the girls. Castor had Pollux in a headlock.

"Blymee, Jenny," said the other blonde. "You didn't tell me the cute monkey boy was twins." Penny smiled. "Makes it better. Mum always said we should share."

Castor and Pollux both got off the floor. "Jenny," Castor said with a smile. "You didn't tell me you and your sister were twins."

Pollux was smiling charmingly at Penny. "Hi, my name's Pollux." he said. "Penny, right? Does that mean I can pick you up and have good luck?" Penny giggled.

"Actually," said Penny. "My name's Penelope Porter and hers is Jennifer Porter. Mum and Dad didn't realize we had rhyming nicknames till it was too late. And I know what your names are from! I'm studying mythology in Uni. Castor and Pollux were the Gemini in Greek myth, right? Sons of Zeus and Leda."

"That's right." said Pollux.

"It's said Castor loved Pollux so much, he gave up his immortality for him."

Pollux laughed. "It's all I can do to get Castor to share his crisps with me!"

"How'd you get a Care Bear Band-Aid on your face?" Jenny asked Castor.

"Uh, Pollux put it there. His dumb idea of a joke."

"I like Care Bears." Jenny said, stroking the Band-Aid on Castor's face. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"Well," Castor stood up straight and puffed his chest. "We had a spot of trouble round here after we ordered some Chinese. See, we're good mates with the chappie what delivers the grub, but some Skinheads started following him. Musta been a dozen of 'em! But I showed them who was boss!" Castor punched a fist into his hand.

"Course, he had help from me." Pollux said, slipping an arm around Penny's shoulders. "See, I'm the better fighter. It's the fighters who don't have no wounds what really know how to fight." Pollux flexed an arm. "Wanna feel that, luv?" he asked, pulling back the sleeve of his robe. Penny smiled and squeezed Pollux's bicep. "Size of a potato, that is!"

"Mashed potato." snarked Castor. Jenny laughed.

"The fur on your costume is so soft." Penny remarked, stroking Pollux's arm, causing the gargoyle to grin. "What's it made with?"

"All natural materials." Pollux sighed, feeling a bit light headed at having his fur toyed with.

"How long did this take to make?" asked Jenny, stroking Castor's ear.

Castor smiled. "Took our mum about six months."

"Oh, your mum made these then?" said Jenny. "How nice! Penny, remember the costumes Mum used to make us for Halloween?"

Penny giggled. "Remember the time she dressed us up as mimes? Then said we shouldn't talk?"

"Better than the time she had us dress up like crayons!" Jenny laughed. "Oh, Castor, could you read Penny's aura for her?"

"Oh, uh right!" Castor looked at Penny held his hands up to frame her and pretended to concentrate. "Oh, well, innit this interesting? Your aura looks almost exactly like my brother's!"

"Does it?" asked Penny as Pollux smiled and gave his brother a thumbs up.

"Oh, yeah!" said Castor. "You both have these warm, bright yellow auras. That means you'll have a lot of fun together."

"Say," said Penny. "Who're those two blokes over by the counter?" Lex and Staghart were still snuggling.

"The little 'un's called Lex." said Castor.

"The big 'un's our brother, Staghart." said Pollux. "An' yeah, they're together."

"Oh," said Jenny. "I know a couple boys in Uni who're like that. It's rather sweet."

"You chaps got a radio?" asked Penny. "Let's get some music in here."

"Oy! Staghart!" Castor called out, snapping him out of his romantic bliss. "Quit snoggin' with Lex and turn on the radio!"

"How about a 'please'?" said Lex.

"Forget it," said Staghart, turning on a radio. "Lost cause." The two sets of twins coupled up and started dancing. "You dance, Lex?"

"Um, never really learned." he admitted. "One night, after I taught Angela how to ice skate she offered to teach me how to dance. Trouble was, she's about as tall as you, minus the antlers, and well...."

"Marshmallow sandwich?" Staghart guessed.

"Yeah. It just got too awkward. Broadway and Brooklyn were both pissed off at me as it was. Guess they thought I just wanted to cop a feel or something."

"I could teach you to dance."

"Well, OK. When would be a good time?"

"How about now?"

"N-now?"

"Now." Amp turned on the strobe lamp and dimmed the lights. They could hear both sets of twins laugh as multi-colored flashes of light danced about the interior of the shop. Amp's arm went around Lex's waist as he led him out from behind the counter. Abba's "Take a Chance on Me" started playing.

"Oh, hell no, I'm not dancing to Abba!" yelled Castor.

"I like Abba!" said Jenny.

"I'm not dancing to Abba unless Jenny is dancing to it!" Castor said, taking the blonde in his arms.

Lex felt more than a little nervous when Amp pulled him close. "Um...what am I supposed to do?"

"Follow my lead." Amp suggested. He spun Lex around, whirled him around and pulled him close. Before long, Lex forgot all about being nervous and just had fun dancing with his lover. He watched Amp and copied his moves until he was pretty sure he got the rhythm. They joined hands and moved their arms in a serpentine rhythm. They both laughed as they spun about. Amp drew him closer. They looked in each others' eyes as they danced in a circle around each other, both loving the sparkle of happiness they saw reflecting their own. Amp swept Lex off his feet and pulled him so that their chests were touching as they spun about.

"OK," Lex gasped as the song came to an end. "You can stop spinning me around now."

"I just did." said Amp.

"Oh." Lex smiled lazily. /I feel like I'm still spinning./ He kissed the side of Amp's muzzle and hugged his neck. One strong arm was bracing him while the other stroked his scalp. Lex let his fingers comb through all the soft, white fur in his reach.

"We'd better get going." said Jenny. "We promised Mum and Dad we wouldn't stay out all night."

"Staying with 'em for Christmas hols, you know." said Penny. "But we've been havin' a loverly time with you chaps." Penny smiled at Pollux. "Take off the mask, and I'll give you a kiss!"

"Ah...can't." said Pollux, truly disappointed. "The masks...take a real long time to put on and take off. Involves a lot of spirit gum and such."

"Right then." said Penny. "I'll kiss your mask then!" She kissed Pollux on top of his nose, something Pollux clearly liked. "Funny! It's warm and feels almost like real skin." she commented, running a finger over the spot she just kissed.

"Here's a kiss for you too, Castor." Jenny kissed him just under his bandaged wound. "Get better soon! Ring us up sometime."

"We share a flat." said Penny. "So, Jenny's number is my number."

"Bye!" they both sang out as they waved good-bye before leaving.

"I'm in there." said Pollux.

The radio DJ announced the weather and local news as Amp and Lex reclined in each others' arms behind the counter. "I remember the last time I danced to that song." Amp said fondly.

"Do you remember who you were dancing it with?" asked Lex.

Amp smiled. "Lunette." he said. "I was 21 and she was just a year old. You know that thing some people do with babies, where they let them sit on one arm and kind of dance around. Lunette loved it. So did Jemima and Fintan. A lot of them did."

Lex smiled. "Yeah. I've done that a few times with Alex. As human babies go, he's adorable. You know, not a lot of males are into playing with hatchlings."

"I like it." Amp said with a shrug. "It's fun. You get to play all the games you played as a hatchling. Besides, someone's got to make sure the little ones aren't completely corrupted by Castor and Pollux."

"Yeah." Lex agreed with a laugh. "So, my dancing any good?"

"You've got very natural grace." said Amp.

"Maybe I could teach you to ice skate sometime." Lex suggested. "If there's a pond or something by Knight's Spur."

Amp chuckled. "Remember the scene from /Bambi/ where Thumper tries to teach Bambi how to walk on ice?" Lex nodded. "I'm slightly less graceful." They both laughed.

"Er, somebody back here?" a customer asked.

Staghart jumped to his feet. "Yes sir, may I help you?"

As Staghart waited on the customer, Lex lay back and remembered the conversation he had over the live video feed with Broadway.

"Well, we're stumped!" said Angela, after they had asked 20 questions. "Wanna tell us what it is?"

"Sorry." Lex told her. "It stays a secret. Um...guys? Can I have a moment to talk to Broadway alone?"

"Well...alright." Angela said hesitantly. "If that's what you want. Merry Christmas!" she left.

"Yeah. Merry Christmas." said Brooklyn before leaving.

"They gone?" asked Lex.

"Yeah." said Broadway. "What's so important you gotta talk to me alone for?"

"Broadway?" said Lex. "I'm gonna ask something kinda personal, and you don't have to answer if you don't wanna. How did you know when you were in love with Angela? Really in love, I mean."

Broadway smiled, not at all offended. "Well, I think I loved her from the moment I saw her. But, if you wanna know when I really knew I was in love, it was that time she nearly died when the Hunters electrocuted her."

"I remember." said Lex.

"Elisa was breathing into her, pushing on her and I was holding Angela's hand. I wanted to beg her not to go, to please open her eyes and live again. But, I didn't want to distract Elisa. I was out of my mind with worry. Then, Angela started coughing and I helped her sit up while Elisa caught her breath. I looked into Angela's shining eyes. I saw life there, I knew she'd be OK. I smiled at her, I squeezed her hand, I gazed into her eyes. And then she threw up on me."

"What?" Lex was taken aback by the rather gross anti-climax.

"It happens with CPR." said Broadway. "A lot of times, the patient throws up as soon as they're revived. So, there I was, covered in puke, and feeling happier than I ever felt in my life!"

"That's kinda gross." said Lex.

"Love ain't always pretty." said Broadway. "Anyway, I stayed with her until sunrise. Once the sun set, she was back to her old self and...well, you were there. You know what happened."

"Oy! Lex!" Castor interrupted Lex's memory. "C'mon, me an' Pollux wanna show ya something."

Lex got up and followed Castor and Pollux to the basement door. He took a glance behind to see that Amp was busy with a customer. "C'mon!" Pollux tugged on his sleeve. Lex followed them down the dimly lit stairs.

"Ya don't think Leo or Una found it already, do you?" asked Pollux.

"Nah." said Castor, searching through the various items that were stowed in the basement. "We'd've caught hell by now if they did."

"They couldn't prove it was ours." Pollux pointed out.

"Our reputation precedes us, brother." said Castor. "Ah, here it is!" Castor took an ornate cloth off of what looked like a very fancy glass vase.

"Um...what is it?" asked Lex.

"What is it?" laughed Pollux as he and his brother removed their robes. "You can't tell?" Lex pulled off his robe as he tried to guess.

"Um...a vase?" The twins laughed at Lex's awkward guess. "Oh...uh...I know! It's one of those really fancy wine bottles." What did Owen call it again? "A decanter, I think it's called."

"Oh, this thing's better than any wine, squire." said Castor, uncoiling the tube that had been hiding behind the glass object.

"Oh...I see what it is now!" said Lex, recognizing it from one of Alex's picture books. "It's um...that thing the Blue Caterpillar uses in /Alice in Wonderland/."

The twins laughed. "Alice in Wonderland!" snickered Pollux.

"Aw, he ain't too far off." said Castor. "This, my Septic friend, is what's called a hookah. Gift from a Pakistani chap we helped out of a tight spot. Pollux, you got the shit?"

Pollux took a plastic bag of what looked like lawn clippings out of his jacket pocket. "Right here, bro!"

"Then light that shit up, mate!" Pollux unscrewed the metal bowel on top of the hookah. "Ya seem like an alright bloke, Lex." said Castor as Pollux packed the bowl. "Ya wouldn't squeal on us, would ya?"

"Uh...what exactly are you doing?" asked Lex.

"Cor, he is from the Dark Ages!" laughed Pollux, lighting the coals.

"Let's just say," said Castor. "We'll be expanding our minds by taking part of a mystical Eastern culture." Castor sat on the floor and inhaled from the tube. "Ah, yeah, that's good shit! Here ya go, Lex." Castor offered him the tube. Lex hesitated.

"We don't have cooties." said Pollux.

"Uh...I...I don't know about this, guys." said Lex.

"'SOK, squire." said Castor. "If ya wanna be a pussy, that's fine."

"Give me that!" Lex took the tube. No one was going to call him a pussy! How bad could this be, anyway? Lex took a drag, then felt like his lungs were on fire. He coughed until his eyes watered.

"You ain't chokin', you ain't smokin'!" laughed Pollux, taking a drag.

"Ah, lad needs to have another go." said Castor. "Lex, ya did it all wrong! Way too fast, mate. Watch me." Castor took a slow drag and exhaled the smoke. "Go on. You do it now."

Lex took the tube. Well, what could it hurt?

"Thank you, come again!" Staghart said to the departing customer. He took a quick look about and realized he was alone in the store. The basement door was ajar. He opened it and had to cover his nose as a sickly sweet odor hit him. He went downstairs, calling for Lex and his brothers. Staghart suddenly recognized the odor. /Tell me they're not getting high. If there's a God in Heaven, tell me they're not getting high!/ He nearly tripped over the still warm, but unlit hookah. "Right! That's it!" Staghart yelled at the ceiling. "I'm becoming a Buddhist!" He then noticed a scrap of paper on the floor. Staghart picked it up and recognized Castor's untidy scrawl.

/Yo, Stags!
We're off to show Lex a good time in London. We'll be back for closing. He sends you love and kissies.
Your super cool brothers,
C & P/

"Changed my mind." said Staghart. "Instead of a Buddhist, I'll convert to whatever religion will forgive you for murdering a pair of idiots!"

Oh noes! What mischief are the twins up to now? The next chapter will be the last before I start on what I believe will be my magnum opus for this fandom.