"Okay. This one's called Pooh's First Clock. Let's see what kind of craziness this little bear and his goofy friends are getting into this time. Ready, Bri? Comfortable?" Bri nods, the back of her head sliding against Justin's chest. She sits snuggled in his lap, his arms around her and holding the book out in front of them. Justin, in turn, lays mostly upright and reclined against the front of JC's body, which is anchored in the corner of the couch in the den. A triple layer of close, cozy warmth. They're both reading her a bedtime story. Together. "Dude, what's the deal with this one? Old-school Pooh or something?" JC breathes hotly on Justin's ear. "Look at the funny little fur ball! He looks different." "Old-school Pooh is actually called 'Classic Pooh,' Jace. Remember? It's like drawings and stuff from when the creator was just coming up with the concepts for the characters and all. They're not, like, fully developed or something." "Did they still live in that Hundred Acre Wood Place?" "I think so. Let's find out," Justin proceeds to open the big cardboard book with a moveable-hands clock built into the center of it. Bri is totally relaxed in his arms, and he's totally relaxed against JC. He knows the little girl will hit snooze land soon. So he reads to her in his soothing, feather-light voice. "It's 8:00 in the morning - time for Pooh and his homies to get out of bed and start their day……….Pooh hops up and practices his Stoutness Exercises before he goes downstairs." "What the f- what are 'Stoutness Exercises'?" JC interrupts. "I don't know. I didn't write this. Shhhh." "He's chunky," Bri explains succinctly. "Thank you, Bri. See, Jace? He has to practice being chunky. Now where were we?..........Then Pooh goes downstairs to have breakfast with Tigger……….And check out Tigger, man. He's already jumping around and busting out everywhere and swishing that long tail around! Even before he chows down! Look at him go!" "Bounce!" Bri quietly corrects him. "Tiggers bounce!" "Jussin, read the book, and stop adlibbing. You're going to get us in trouble," JC giggles and squeezes Justin's thigh. "Okay, you're so right, little lady. Tiggers bounce," Justin gives in. "A lot like your Uncle JC. Girl, you should see him bounce and spring and hop around all over the stage when he's singing. He's amazing. A hyper ball of hot, hot fire. And he swishes his tail all over the place too," he says and laughs. "Just like ener-gigger Tigger here." "Um, just read the story, J. We don't need, like, in-depth character analysis and stuff." JC squeezes playfully once more. "Absotively, posilutely!" Bri chimes in again. Justin snickers. "That's what ol' Tigger says, isn't it? Sure is! So look-a-here. Nine o'clock now, and Tigger and Pooh have breakfast while Piglet digs a hole. Eeyore is in his Gloomy Place munching on some thistles." "What the hel- heck are thistles?" "Like thorns or something. How do I know? Just be quiet, Jace. Stop interrupting. Let me at least finish this page. Would you?" JC huffs. "Rabbit does some washing here," Justin continues. "Then it gets to be, like, 10:00 on Pooh's clock, so he practices his leaping skills now. Look at him trying to leap." "He's chunky," Bri reminds them and giggles. "And here's Christopher Robin skipping rope. Wow! They're all so busy so early in the morning, aren't they, Bri?" She nods again and sighs. And Justin can feel JC leaning up over his shoulder to see the pictures better. He smiles at the sensation of JC's lips grazing his earlobe. And he shivers at the steamed words that come out of that hot mouth in a breezy whisper. "Christopher Robin. The first twink in the Hundred Acre Wood. Man, is that a pink hat and blue blouse he's wearing? To, um, skip rope in?" Justin laughs again. "Stop that, sweetness. Like you don't wear pink hats and blouses." "I don't skip rope." "You don't have your pink high-top Keds yet. You might skip rope." "Well, then I rest my case. Twink. That's a definite for sure." "You need to rest your mouth. This is Bri's story, babe. Not yours. Hush." But JC isn't to be hushed so easily. He has more colorful observations to share. "And man! Who drew this stuff?" "The artist. Duh." "Duh, JC," Bri snickers. "Did the artist dude know Lance Bass or what? Look at that Eeyore cat! Is that not Lance to a tee? The big, heavy-lidded eyes, the thick short body. And doesn't he talk in that slow, deep voice all the time?" JC tries to imitate what he knows of Eeyore's unique mellow-rich sound. "Old gloomy me. Umm hmm. Mississippi is, like, Africa hot. Hot, hot, hot. And you can't get the spaceman channel on cable waaaaay down there. Ho ho hum. Where's me some thistles and briars to chew on? Umm hmm……….Dude! That is SO Lance!" It cracks Bri up, and she claps her little hand to her mouth to keep the giggles in. "JC is funny." "Jace, will you just quit?" Justin scolds through his own laughing. "I'm trying to get Wee Bri to sleep here, and you're not helping a bit." JC sits up and forward a little more, sliding his arm around Justin's waist to pat Bri's stomach. "Hold up just for a second, baby. I'm onto something here. Check it out……….Lance is Eeyore. Joey is Rabbit." "Wait. Why is Joey Rabbit?" "Well, what do rabbits like to do best?" Justin sighs and wrinkles his nose. "Um, hop around really fast? Munch on carrots?" "No, dork. Hello? They like to make more rabbits. Pro. Cre. Ate. Get it?" JC laughs. "So, well, the boinking part of that. Joe all the way. See now?" "You're stunningly brilliant, Jace," Justin deadpans. "Sometimes. Yeah, I know. Now look at this thing here." "Piglet," Bri whispers in response to what JC points at on the page. As if she understands every word of the conversation and figures he needs a little insight and clarification on Pooh's "homies." "Piglet. Thank you, baby doll. Piglet does next to nothing, from what I can see here, except dig himself a hole for no apparent reason and blow up big red balloons so he can haul them around, again, for exactly no reason. Now who does that sound like, J?" "He doesn't blow the balloon up, babe. It doesn't say that. He just brings it to the party. The party for Pooh at 5:00 in the afternoon on the clock. See on the next page?" "Even better. Lazy little oink-oink probably bribed the twink to stop skipping rope and blow it up for him. That would be Chris, by the way, dude. Don't you think? Yep. Piglet Kirkpatrick has a cute ring to it. And yeah, everybody knows that twinks can, well, blow. Haha." Justin is laughing so hard that he's shaking Bri, which is tickling her, and she's giggling again too. "Jace, stop! Bri's going to have nightmares from your warped psychobabble! Hush it!" "Hey! You know I'm right, baby." "You're crazy!" "Crazy? Wrong! I have valid points here, man." JC peers over Justin's shoulder and squinches up his face. "But hold on. What's up with that? Is that Rabbit giving Piglet a bath? Eeww! That's a scenario I don't even want to think about. Because c'mon. Just gross." "Jace, you have GOT to be quiet! Poor girl is never going to get to sleep," Justin says and gently elbows JC's ribs. "But Chris and Joe and a bathtub with bubbles? Ugh. I agree. Spare me the visual image on that one. Yuck." JC's quiet for only a few breathy moments. "Okay, J. That leaves Pooh himself." Justin groans then, knowingly. "Oh, no, baby. Just don't." "Too late now. We can't leave Pooh out. He's the main character!..........Look at the cute little fuzzy feller," JC rasps at the side of Justin's head and licks at his bristly, "fuzzy" jaw line. "He's so young and kid-like. Aww, you just want to squeeze him up, don't you? Man, I know I do. And look at that. See how he gets his whole gigantinormous head inside that honey pot at breakfast, baby? Just like somebody else I know with a colossal head who loves to eat bowls of Cheerios and Wheaties in the morning……….always getting his face right down in it so he won't miss any of the yumminess. Hmm. Sound familiar?" "That's enough, Jace. You made your point." Justin still can't stop snickering. He brushes Bri's hair off her forehead and caresses her soft cheek with his fingertips. "Can we just wrap up the story now? The little girl is patiently waiting for you to stop being gigantinormously silly." "JC's silly," she whispers in Justin's arms. "So you see the similarities then, baby? 'Cause that will be your new nickname. There couldn't be a perfecter one," JC purrs and bites at Justin's earlobe. "My own little cuddly, fuddly Pooh." "No way, Jace." "Way. Stop arguing." "Then you're Tigger." "But of course. Didn't you already say that earlier? And, man, pay attention here. This is the shi- the best of all right here. See, weren't Tigger and Pooh waking up together in the morning on that clock? Like about 8:00? They were in the same bedroom! Look! And then they were, you know, sharing breakfast just like a normal little couple. Hmm?" "Man. They are. Look at that," Justin hushesquietly, in awe, cradling Bri between his biceps as they all gaze at the storybook. "They are SO doing it." "Jace, stop. You're being very naughty." "Face the facts, baby. They're right here in the pictures. In 'classic' color, you know. Those dudes are an item in that Hundred Acre Wood 'hood. A they probably roll around together all over each other out there in the meadow and do the you-know-what, um, A Hundred Ways." Justin lets out a rolling peal of laughter. "Man, you are reaching now, babe. That was lame." "No, it wasn't. And I'll bet my butt that they invite the twink Chrissy Robin over for cocktails and dishing gossip by the rainbow every Friday evening. Before they go out to the disco. You think?" "Dishing gossip? By the rainbow?" Justin giggles. "Oh, man. Stop it, Jace. You're cracking me up." JC grins and kisses Justin's warm neck. "I crack myself up. How could Tigger not want a sexy little fluffy-plush Pooh like that one? He's all the way smitten. No, more than smitten. He's……….enchanted. With the cute bear critter." "Enchanted," Justin repeats in a satiny whisper. "That's too sweet." "Tiggers bounce!" Bri reiterates, drowsiness creeping into her small, baby voice quicker and quicker. "Yes, they do, honey," JC says, rubbing her belly and resting backward into the couch again. His hand remains on Justin's hip. "And I'll bet this Tigger has lots and lots of fun 'bouncing' on this Pooh. Lots of fun, indeed." Justin doesn't even chide him again for being undercover naughty. He just smiles. "I'd even go as far as to say they love each other very much," he adds, leaning into JC's chest. "I think Pooh probably digs the 'bouncing' as much as Tigger does. Yeah, he does." ~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~ A few minutes later, Justin closes the book, quietly lays it on the couch beside them, and tenderly slides Bri's wavy hair off her forehead again. When she lets out a tiny unconscious sigh, slumped in his arms pliant and limber, he smiles. "She's zonked, sweetness. Snoozing like a tired little angel……….Are you?" "Zonked? No, not me. I'm just laying here listening to you breathe, feeling you enjoy her," JC stirs a little and whispers back. "She was great tonight." "You were great with her." "So were you. She's totally got a little crush on you, sweetness. You're, like, right down on her age level." "Hey! I'm at least on a five-year-old level, baby! No fair!" Justin laughs softly, completely settled into JC's tight body wrapped around him and Bri. His voice is so airy ad delicate. "Do you think this is what it would be like to have one of our own?" "Prob'bly so……….Are you thinking about getting us one?" "I always thought I'd like to have one, maybe two, eventually." "That would be so natural. I can see you being the coolest daddy." "But only with you, Jace. That's something I'd only want to do with you. Nobody else." "Well, damn, baby. Of course only with me. You think I'd let you sneak away long enough to get yourself a child with somebody else? Fuck that. No way. It would have to be ours. Together." Justin laughs again, like a spring breeze. "You'd be the most fun daddy. I'd have to keep you from spoiling it rotten." "Yeah, by spoiling it rotten yourself." "Should we put her in her bed, Jace?" "You like laying here holding her, don't you?" Justin smiles and rolls his head backward against JC's chest. "You knew." "Sure, I knew. I'm me." "Yes. You are, babe." "Let's just sit snug like this 'til Mama Bear and Papa Bear get back to the crib. Then we'll head home and do some frolicking in our own Hundred Acre Wood." "I think Tigger was a total sex-crazed perv." "I fucking hope so," JC whispers again sleekly.