Boxing Day

"See the earth below! Soon to make a crater!" The twins sang as they glided over London. "Blue sky, black death, I’m off to meet my maker!"

"C'mon, sing along with us, Lex, ol' boy!" laughed Castor, who was carrying the smaller gargoyle piggy-back.

"Uh, I don't know any Megadeth." Lex said lazily. "Wow, that moon sure is bright!"

"Ah, sing something you do know!" laughed Pollux.

"OK." Lex laughed. "Think of the happiest thiiiings!" he sang. "It's the same as having wiiiings!"

"Think of Christmas, think of snow," the three of them sang. "Think of sleigh bells, off you go! Like reindeer in the snoooooow! You can fly, you can fly, you can flyyyyyyyy!"

"Ya know what?" Castor laughed. "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Disney ain't so bad after all."

"Yeah, Disney's great!" laughed Lex. "In fact, I'd like to be a Disney character!" The three of them laughed uproariously at this. "Yeah, I'll be the first gay Disney character!"

"Aw, you know Wiggins from /Pocahontas/ was gay." said Castor.

"So was the Reluctant Dragon." said Pollux. "And Prince John from /Robin Hood/."

"Nah, he was bi!" said Castor. The three laughed together. "Oy, wanna hear a joke? What's three inches long, green and smells like pork? Kermit the Frog's finger!" They all laughed again.

"I got one!" said Pollux. "What's three inches long, green and smells like venison? Lex's finger!" This caused them all to laugh so hard that Castor nearly dropped Lex.

"Whoa, hang in there, squire!" Castor got a better grip on him. "Alley oop!" He pulled Lex into a better position.

"Damn, you're high, Castor!" Pollux laughed. "No one over the age of 12 says 'alley oop'!"

"Maybe we better land somewhere." giggled Castor.

"The moon is so bright tonight." Lex said in utter awe. "And you know something? This is the first time I've actually said the words! I'm gay!" Lex laughed and shouted "You hear me, London? I'm gay! And I love it!"

"Hey, there's Big Ben." Pollux pointed at the clock tower. "Whaddya say we set it back a couple hours again?"

"Yeah!" Castor laughed. "That was so funny last time! The humans had no idea what was going on! Whaddya say, Lex? Wanna turn back time?"

"The moon is so bright." Lex repeated. "And all the stars...so twinkly...."

They landed rather ungracefully on top of the clock tower. "Kay, it's just a couple minutes past midnight." said Pollux. "So the big hand should be on the 12."

"Pollux, you idjit!" said Castor. "Can't you tell time? If it's after midnight, then the little hand is on the 12."

"Well that doesn't make any sense!" said Pollux. "The big hand should be on the hour!"

"I know!" said Lex. "I'll go check for you!" Lex leaned over the side to get a better look at the clock face. Suddenly, he overbalanced and fell over the side.

"Aw, shit!" yelled Castor. "He couldn't glide with his arm bandaged!"

"Shit!" yelled Pollux. "What are we gonna tell Una?"

"Shit!" yelled Castor. "What are we gonna tell Hudson?"

"Shit!" yelled Pollux. "What are we gonna tell Staghart?"

"Yes, what are you going to tell me?" They heard the whoosh of wings beating the air and looked up to see Staghart swooping down with Lex in his arms. His eyes were glowing menacingly.

"Hey, Staghart!" laughed Castor. "You rescued Lex. Good on you, mate!"

"So, no harm, no foul, right?" laughed Pollux. "Let's just forget this happened, alright?"

"I don't think so." Staghart's eyes were still glowing.

"Aw, c'mon, Stags!" Castor was starting to get scared. "You know we'd never really do anything to hurt the li'l bugger!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Pollux said with a nervous laugh. "We like him. It was all his idea anyways!"

"You two," Staghart said evenly "Are the biggest pair of idiots in the world! Lex could've died all because you thought it would be a lark to get lit and fool around with the hands of Big Ben again! Do you two ever think of anything beyond the moment? This isn't funny! This is just plain stupid!"

"OK, we're sorry, Staghart." said Castor. "I guess that was kinda dumb."

"Yeah," said Pollux. "You can hit us if you want."

"Yeah!" said Pollux. "Go ahead. One free swing on both of us! It'll make ya feel better."

"I'm not going to hit you." said Staghart. With a whoosh of wind on feathered wings, Una and Leo landed nearby, eyes glowing. "Before I left, I phoned Una and told her what was going on." Una grabbed Pollux by the ear. Leo grabbed Castor by the ear.

"Can't you just hit us instead?" asked Castor.

"We'll handle them, Staghart." said Una. "Bernard and Arline are minding the store now. You're free to see to Lex. As for you two...." Her eyes glowed like coals as she turned to Castor and Pollux. "You are grounded for a fortnight at least!"

"Aw, c'mon, Una!" said Pollux. "We'll make it up to ya!"

"Yeah," said Castor. "How 'bout a three way?"

Leo's eyes glowed white as he snarled. "Aw c'mon, Leo!" laughed Pollux. "You know we're only takin' the piss!"

Una jerked on Pollux's ear. "We are going, now!" As she and Leo started to walk away with the ill-behaved gargoyles, she noticed that Staghart stood where he was, Lex cradled in his arms. "Aren't you coming?" she asked.

"I-I'll bring him home soon." said Staghart. Una nodded. If Staghart wanted a moment alone with Lexington, he could have it. The four of them left soundlessly.

"Why did you do it?" Amp whispered as soon as the two of them were alone.

Lex opened his eyes and looked at Amp. "Wow!" he gasped as he smiled broadly. "You are /beautiful/!"

"Lex, are you alright?"

"I...I can't feel the ground!"

"I'm holding you." Amp explained.

"Oh, that explains it!" Lex laughed. "Wow, that moon is soooo bright!"

"Lex, you're high."

"And you're sexy!"

Amp put Lex back down on his feet, only for him to nearly topple over. Amp caught him. "Lex, what possessed you to do this? Castor and Pollux I can understand, but you? You're too smart for this."

"Too smart for what?"

Amp sighed. "You're not going to understand a thing I say until you sober up, so I may as well take you home."

"Mmmm...." Lex snuggled closer to Amp. "Take me home, sexy! Show me a good time! I want you, Amp! I want you to fuck me good!"

"No." Amp sighed. "No you don't. It's the weed talking." He got a good grip on Lex and spread his wings. He stepped off the ledge, caught the current and glided back to Knight's Spur. /Pity./ Staghart thought to himself. /I wanted him awake and lucid this time around./

The first time Staghart had seen Lexington, he thought he was cute...in the way hatchlings, puppies and stuffed toys were cute. It didn't take him long to figure out the small gargoyle wasn't a hatchling. Hatchlings didn't have that sort of muscle mass, slender as it was. Lex's body was compact, but graceful like a dancer or a gymnast. Staghart knew he'd like him as soon as he agreed to call him "Amp." As he spoke with them, Staghart found himself liking him even more. Lex was so bright, so charming, and he had the most amazing eyes. They were wide and such a dark shade of brown they were nearly black. Whenever he was excited, curious, or even if the moon was shining on them just right, they would glitter and sparkle like stars. Staghart sometimes had to concentrate to keep from getting lost in them.

Holding him after he had been knocked out had been so nice. Staghart managed to catch Lex after he had been shocked by that robot. Even managed to toss off a bon mot before finding someplace relatively safe to wait for Lex to come to. As soon as Staghart had checked his pulse and breathing, he allowed himself a couple minutes to appreciate the warm body against his, to feel suede soft skin and inhale that scent that was uniquely him. Lex soon, recovered, his large, sparkling eyes fluttering as he asked what he missed. Staghart often wondered what would've happened next if he hadn't been cockblocked by laser fire.

"I smell pines." Lex said dreamily as they approached Knight's Spur. "Wanna make out?"

"Tempting." Staghart admitted. "But no."

"Know what?" Lex giggled. "If you rearrange the letters in the word 'pines', you get 'penis'!" Lex giggled some more.

/I'll have to see if that's true next time I have a pen and paper./ Staghart decided. Lex started singing "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" and insisted that Staghart sing along with him. Coco met them as they landed on the veranda. "Saw Una and Leo drag the Twins in." she said. "What'd they do this time?"

"You know what?" laughed Lex. "You know what? I'm coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs!" Lex nearly doubled over laughing.

"Lex, you been smokin' them funny fags?" asked Coco.

"Well, not yet!" giggled Lex. "But I wouldn't mind returning a favor!" He slapped Staghart on the shoulder as he laughed. Staghart face palmed as Coco smirked.

"I'll make some coffee." she offered. "And see if we got any Doritos left. He might be wantin' those soon." She went to the kitchen.

"C'mon, Lex." said Staghart. "Let's sober you up." He started to carry Lex.

"I can walk, you know." said Lex. "Been doin' it since I was, like, two, or something." Staghart decided to let him try walking and had to catch him before he fell on his face. Lex just laughed. "I guess ya gotta carry me!" Lex ran a tasing finger over Staghart's neck. "Carry me up to bed, sweetie. This is one night you're turning me on! I need to be kissed and often by someone who knows how!"

"Frankly, Lex," Staghart said as he carried him to the kitchen. "I don't give a damn."

Coco got the coffee going and started searching the cabinets for Doritos. "Fraid we're out of the nacho cheese." she said. "You like Cool Ranch, Lex?"

"I...I don't feel so good." Since Lex was already green, it was hard to tell what color he was turning, but it didn't look good.

"Staghart," Coco said warningly. "If he's gonna be sick, you take him outta here! I ain't cleaning it up!"

"Let's go, Lex." Staghart hurried Lex to the nearest bathroom. Lex knelt by the toilet and started retching. "Alright, it's OK." Staghart started slapping Lex on the back. Lex threw up twice, and just when it looked like he was done, spat up some more. /Don't look at it./ Staghart reminded himself. /Try not to smell it. Don't need two of us getting sick./ He flushed the toilet and helped Lex stand up. "You alright love?"

"There's two of you!" Lex said happily.

"Let's rinse your mouth out." Staghart led him to the sink and helped him up on the plastic step stool. Staghart let go of him to grab a Dixie cup and had to grab Lex to keep him from falling over. "How you feeling?"

"Like crap that's been crapped on." Lex moaned.

Staghart filled the cup with water. "Here, rinse your mouth out." Lex did. "Would you like something stronger? We have Scope."

"What's wrong with Lexington?" asked a small voice by the door.

Staghart turned to see Lunette. "Lex isn't feeling very well, sweetheart." he said. "We'll be done in here in a minute."

"Is he pissed?" Lunette asked.

"Where did you hear that word, young lady?"

"I heard one of the Twins say it one time when the other was gettin' sick in the loo." Lunette responded. "The other one said 'Oy! You're one pissed bugger!'"

"Well, little girls aren't supposed to talk like that." Staghart said as Lex gargled some Scope. "Una would have kittens if she heard you use that language."

"Really?" Lunette seemed excited by this prospect.

Staghart ruffled her mane. "Run along now, dear."

"I'll never do that again." Lex groaned.

"You'd better not." said Staghart. "I must've aged 40 years when I saw you tumble off of Big Ben. Lex, Lex look at me!" Staghart turned Lex to face him. "I don't want to lose you so soon after finding you."

"Amp? Are you crying?"

"What? No...no, uh, something just got in my eye." Amp wrapped his arms around Lex and held him tight. "Just...just don't ever scare me like that again, OK?"

Before long, the two of them were snuggled together on a window seat that gave them a spectacular view of the pine forest, the river and the starry sky. Lex was feeling a little better, but tired. He pillowed himself on Amp's chest, listening to the steady heartbeat as gentle arms held him tenderly. Amp cuddled his lover and inhaled the unique scent of his lover, mixed with the minty scent of mouth wash. The smell of pot and vomit had mercifully faded. Amp had often held one of the hatchlings like this, usually while singing or reading to them. It was different now. He was holding his true love in his arms now. /I'm taking a chance./ Amp realized. /But, I think it's going to be worth it./

"Amp?" Lex whispered. Amp hummed his response. "Would you sing to me?"

"Well, alright." The first thing that came to mind was "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", another song from /Cinderella/. Lex smiled with pleasure as he listened to the soothing tenor. Lightly furred fingers brushed over his scalp. "No matter how your heart is grieving, If you keep on believing," Amp sang. "The dream that you wish will come true."

"I'm sorry if I acted like a jerk earlier." said Lex.

"It's alright." sighed Amp. "You were high. You didn't know what you were saying."

"I shouldn't have taken those hits anyway." said Lex. "I shouldn't have let the Twins get to me."

"Don't take too much of what they say seriously." Amp advised. He looked out the window to see the stars starting to wink out of sight. "The sun will be up before long."

"Can we stay like this?" Lex asked, snuggling closer. "Could we just fall asleep together, holding each other?"

"I'd like that." said Amp. "This window gets plenty of sunlight during the day, so your arm should be healed by evening." The sky outside was becoming less black and more gray. Streaks of pinkish orange lit the horizon. "Look, Lex. Isn't it beautiful."

"Yeah." Lex smiled and pulled two large white hands close to his heart as he leaned against the sturdy body. "Beautiful." They both turned to stone smiling.
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A/N: "High Speed Dirt" composed by Dave Mustaine and Dave Ellefson. "You Can Fly" composed by Sammy Fain, Sammy Cahn, Frank Churchill, Winston Hibler and Ted Sears. (Sorry, that's the best my research can narrow it down to.) "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" composed by Al Hoffman, Mack David, and Jerry Livingston. My next story will be a long one called "Aisiteru Means I Love You".