Taking care of two children was not an easy task, but Nathaniel and Jake managed to deal with it in a way. Even if the alpha worked at home and managed to help take care of the twins, and Nathaniel used his children's nap time to clean the house and bring meals forward, by the end of the day they both threw themselves into bed extremely exhausted.
But everything was rewarded when they saw those little smiles where they saw the first little teeth being born.
Oh of course, the teeth phase was also difficult for them. The children were tricky when they had fever, not to mention that they put everything in their mouth. They were lucky that Joseph was a great-grandfather who likes to pamper the great-grandchildren, because he gave some teethers and other little things.
— Did he buy more clothes for them?
— Don't try to understand my grandfather, Nath. When I try to say that we are realizing he almost kills me with that look of his — Jake said leaving the bags on the coffee table.
— I still think your grandfather should keep that money to himself. Now he is still fine, but in the future he may need for medical treatments.
Jake grimaced and sat down on the floor, and soon the twins started crawling towards him.
— You pamper my grandfather too much. Do you think he doesn't like it when you show all this concern for him? Even I want to be pampered.
It was Nathaniel's turn to make a grimace.
— You, Mckenzie, are some needy ones.
— Yes, yes, but I'm your needy one — Jake tilted his head, pointing to the bite behind the ear — Forever.
The twins sat between Jake's legs and watched the parents talk without even understanding what it was about. For them the fun would be to climb their own father. So, Ariel and Lucas climbed up on Jake's lap and held his shirt as they tried to stand alone.
Unconsciously the alpha left his arms under those little asses and supported them to stand, and so the little ones began to touch your shirt, your face, your hair. Ariel was not content to stand on his father's lap, and began to want to use his shoulder stool to climb on the couch.
— There is no use crying for spilled milk. I'll call him later and thank him for the gift — Nathaniel took the bags of clothes piece by piece — I will wash them to go already using.
— Sunday my grandfather will make a lunch, so it would be good if the boys wear new clothes, ah! — Jake looked at Ariel who had sat on the sofa and pulled his hair — That hurts, daughter! It hurts the father.
— Pa... Papapa....
— Yeah, that makes daddy boo-boo.
The girl laughed and lay her head on Jake's head. Lucas who looked curious imitated his sister and laid his head on Jake's chest.
— Ah. — The alpha blushed and covered his face all ashamed.
Nathaniel laughed and did not take long to pull the digital camera to take a picture of that unexpected scene.
— That's a relic, haha.
— You're laughing because she's not pulling your hair.
— I cut my hair just for that.
Well, Nathaniel had left the sides of his hair lower and close to the back of the head as well, only the top part was big. A stylish hairstyle that made him beautiful, but Jake would never know it was pure strategy.
— Smart you, huh?
— I called you to go cut too, it was not because I did not want.
Jake kept grumbling, which made his boyfriend laugh even more. Taking advantage that Jake was with the children, Nathaniel went to prepare dinner and from the kitchen he listened to the laughter of the children while the alpha played with them.
Who was more childish there? Nathaniel could not say.
But that's okay. As long as they were having fun, none of it mattered.
It also wouldn't matter if the whole room became a zone, with cushions and toys scattered around. Not that Jake would get his arms sore from having to hold the two babies they wanted to crawl to every corner of the room.
At dinner, Nathaniel picked up Lucas and with the help of Jake, both gave dinner to the twins. They took the opportunity to try to eat together, but it was a bit difficult since those little hands wanted to grab the pieces of meat.
— It's hot, you can't — Nathaniel warned, giving a piece of cooked carrot to Lucas — Take this one, it's tasty too.
— Yummy.
— That's right, it's yummy.
A rain of soup spread across the table. Nathaniel and Lucas looked at the other pair on the table and saw chaos. Jake all dirty soup and Ariel with her hands inside the plate spreading the food.
And she still laughed as if that was the funniest thing in the world.
— Oh my god… — Nathaniel mumbled, leaning on the table to get the paper napkin — Don't play with food, daughter. Food is to eat, put in the mouth.
Ariel held the paper napkin and rubbed on the table, and the couple could not say if it made things worse or better. Jake then dried the table and served an extra shell on her plate and returned to dinner. This time with the dish out of her reach.
— Wow, I stink of vegetable soup.
— Then take off your clothes and take a shower, while I will leave to soak.
— Yes, sir.
During meals it was always a war field with Ariel, while Lucas was calm and ate really savoring the food. And after meals, Nathaniel played with the children while Jake took care of the dishes and went to shower to take all the rest of the soup.
It is said that during the night they stayed with the children and watched some drawing with them to calm them down a little. Jake had the idea to take the mattress of the double bed and leave in the room, lined with pillows and blankets and so the four lie there to see drawing. Of course, the children liked being lying next to their parents.
Between games and watching movies, in the end the children falling asleep. And the prevailing silence along with the dark of the room also made their parents fall asleep. Lucky that Jake turned off the TV before the twins ended up waking up in the middle of the night and losing sleep.
The four of them slept in the living room.
That night, Nathaniel had a dream.
A dream that seemed too real.
It was as if he woke up in the room, in the same position that he slept on the mattress on the floor and the children sleeping between him and Jake. The curtain would be open and the sun lit up the whole room leaving the room completely clear. And crouched behind Jake was Ares, his late father.
Ares looked at Jake and the twins with a smile on his face, arms resting on his knees.
— What a beautiful family you built, my champion — Ares spoke, raising his light-brown eyes to Nathaniel and smiling as he used to do — I did not say that you would meet important people who would help you and have a happy ending? You need to believe more in your father.
Nathaniel felt a knot forming in his throat, but at the end he smiled and continued lying on the mattress.
— You're right, now I know that you were right.
Ares laughed and stretched his hands over the heads of children stroking their hair.
— Receive the blessing of this grandfather. His ways will be bright.
Nathaniel watched it and for a moment he had a glimpse. An inexplicable glimpse, but one that filled his heart with joy. A beautiful and smiling woman, full of energy holding a fancy camera and a handsome boy looking like Jake, wearing costumes of a chef.
That glimpse lasted thousandths of a second, but Nathaniel understood what it was.
And so, he opened his eyes from that dream realizing it was already morning. Ares was not there, but there was a feeling that he really blessed the children.
Staying lying for a few more minutes, Nathaniel thought about the dream wondering if it was something in his head or if his father would have even stopped by his house. What about that glimpse? His heart was still pounding when he remembered what he had seen.
In the end, he was thinking so much about what he barely saw when the twins woke up and were looking curiously at him.
— Paa! — Called the twins.
Nathaniel looked at them and stretched his hand in their directions, being gripped at the same instant.
— Good morning, my loves.
The children smiled at him. And then the twins already turned on the mattress and began to climb on top of Jake. The alpha grumbled as his arms held the twins, already waking up to the shameless giggles of the two babies.
It was time to start another day.