Bam was concerned and he knew Ville and Mikko were too. Linde was so quiet, so wiithdrawn even for him. And so drunk.
It was bizarre because so far as any of them knew, Linde and Ryan hadn't even seen each other. Unless that was the problem of course.
Repeated attempts at finding out what was wrong had been rebuffed from picking up Linde and Mikko at the mansion to catching their flight home. But the blond guitarist had been drinking steadily since take off and it usually made Linde more talkative so Bam decided to try again.
"Linde..."
"Bam, give it a rest," Linde snapped.
"We're worried about you."
"I know." The older man sighed and looked over the aisle at him. "I'm just not..."
"Is this to do with Ryan?"
"No!" he denied a little too quickly.
"Really?" Ville asked quietly.
Linde sighed. "I got a call from Manna."
"Is she okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, in fact, uh, well, she's pregnant."
"Pregnant?" Bam gasped. "That's so cool! But... why tell you and not us?"
Linde sank down in his seat, hiding his face. "Because it's mine."
"What?" Ville and Mikko gasped simultaneously.
"But you're gay," Bam exclaimed.
"Bam, keep it down," Ville said, elbowing him.
"Sorry but, come on."
"It was..." Linde sighed. "We both got really, really drunk at New Year. You know her ex was sleeping around on her?"
"Yeah."
"She got tested, her results came back clean so she was sort of celebrating and I was, well, you know."
Bam reached over the aisle to pat his friend's shoulder. "Yeah, we know." Linde had spent every New Year since the break up with Ryan absolutely paralytic.
"It was a one time thing, a moment of drunken stupidity," Linde said, grimacing and rubbing his brow, "I don't even really remember it except for waking up together naked."
"Wow," Mikko murmured. "Why don't I have moment of drunken stupidity like that?"
"Because Vedrana would beat your ass?" Bam said with a snort.
"Oh yeah."
"Not helping."
"How are you feeling Lintti?" Ville asked softly.
"Like nothing is real anymore."
Mikko wrapped an arm round slender shoulders, hugging the blond close.
"But dude, you're going to be dad, that's so cool."
Linde looked over at him, grimacing. "You think so?"
"Yeah man."
"Bam?" Ville said quietly.
He turned to look at his husband. "What baby?"
Ville looked thoughtful and a little sad. "Do you ever think about... you know, about kids?"
"No, not really," Bam said, reaching up to smooth the crease between his husband's brows. "Do you?"
"No but..."
"But what baby? Come on, we don't have time to bring up a kid, it wouldn't be practical."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure. As long as you don't want kids then I'm happy being Uncle Bam."
"As long as you're happy, my love, then I'm happy."
Grinning at his lover, he leaned in and kissed him quickly. "I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too Bam."
"There you go Linde, two volunteers for uncle duty," Mikko laughed.
"Only two?! Linde said with a soft smile.
"No, no way, you'll start Vedrana off."
"Aw Mizee, would that be so bad?" Bam teased.
"Maybe not in a few years," he sighed. "But right now, yes. I mean, like you said, it's not practical right... ah man Linde, I'm sorry."
"That's okay, I made my bed. I suppose I'm lucky Manna's such a good friend, she'll let me be a father with no expectations."
Bam smiled findly at his friend. "A mini Linde running round, how cute."
"Ah shut up." Linde smiled at him but still ordered another drink.
Bam bit back an objection and leaned against his lover pulling an arm round him with a sigh. They had to let him work it out his own way.
end