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Since they had moved away Will had always sent back Christmas cards to Alana and Jack. It was a way to touch base and see how they were without being pulled into awkward conversations about his decision to leave. The first year he had picked a family photo of him and Matthew, with Beverly snuggled in their arms. Matthew had hung it up on their fridge and Will had known then that Matthew would want to do it again.
This year Beverly was close to being one and a half, and Matthew had decided that they would do something different. He wanted a photo of Beverly and the new twins Molly and Willy with Santa as the card this year. At first Will had had a few reservations, the twins were only five months old and Beverly didn’t seem to listen to anything they said, but after some careful convincing he had given in.
Matthew had booked the time and dressed Beverly up in a little white dress with a fluffy white tutu and a beaded necklace that she kept chewing on. The twins on the other hand were just in matching pure red onesie with a black strip around the middle to mock the Santa belt.
Will had had to bite his tongue from making a comment.
He might have known it was just part of Matthew’s Alpha pride, and wanting to show off his family, but it was endearing. It gave him a chance to be the one to stand back and watch as his mate dealt with the kids.
Unlike a few alpha’s he had known Matthew had endless patience with their children, making sure they were all content and clean before getting Will’s help to get them to the car.
The twins were asleep as soon as they were in their car seats and Beverly was distracted by the special toy she only got when they went somewhere. They had learned fast enough that it was important to keep her distracted.
Once they arrived it was much easier, each one held a baby, and Beverly insisted on holding Matthew’s hand for the short walk to the studio.
The Santa Claus was seated in the chair, and they only had to wait for one person before it was their turn.
Now that Beverly was fully awake and aware that they were no longer at home she started to wonder the studio while Matthew and Will carefully handed over the twins to get them into position. It was a gift that they were both still asleep and so no complaints left their small lips.
Once the two of them were settled in Will carefully cornered Beverly, tantalizing her with one of the studios toys.
Although she was a friendly child she did not want to get into a strangers lap, even if her brother and sister were already there.
Most of her words were either gibberish or the few ones that only the two of them could seem to understand, but it was obvious that she needed time to warm up to him. Except they didn’t have a lot of time.
“What if daddy stood right by you? Just to the side of the chair?”
Matthew offered, waiting to see if what she would do. Beverly made a few small babbles at him and turned around to look. Will took the hint and stood near the chair, but just far away that he wouldn’t be in the picture.
Only when she got a good long look did she hold out her hand and let Matthew lead her across the floor.
Will liked how she always wanted to hold his mate’s hand. She felt safe with her father and Matthew had been completely smitten by her since she was first born, despite any worries he had about being a good father.
“Okay we are going to put you on his lap.”
The babbled, “Up up.” Was enough to let Will know that they were actually going to manage it, that they would have a picture with all three children and all of them would look relatively civilized.
Matthew was careful to snuggle her in the middle of the babies, making sure they didn’t wake them yet. Once Beverly seemed comfortable he moved to Will’s side, holding out his hand. Will took it, and leaned into his mate’s side as he watched the picture take place.
Although he may have thought it was a bad idea before looking at their three children dressed up and looking adorable he felt pride. He squeezed Matthew’s hand and felt warmth through their bond. Matthew letting him know that he felt the same way.
There were a few dozen shots as they tried to get Beverly to look at the camera and not her dads, and then when she did start to look at the camera she was beginning to become bored and was squirming in place.
It was then that he noticed that Willy’s little mouth was open in a great big yawn. It only dissolved from there until both twins were awake and making soft whimpers and Beverley was chewing on her necklace.
With Matthew’s help he got both the twins and left Matthew to deal with Beverly alone.
As soon as they twins were against him they started to quiet down, knowing from his smell that they were safe with their father.
At their age Will was just thankful that they were good sleepers, and normally not bothered by the constant stream of noise their older sister made.
He watched as Matthew paid one hand firmly in Beverly’s and his other fumbling with his wallet.
“It wasn’t so bad.” Will admitted as he walked back to the car.
“Not at all.”
“It was actually kind of nice.”
Will added as he looked over at his mate. Matthew’s excitement was infectious and he also found that he couldn’t wait to see the pictures when they got home and checked their email.
*
“I think this one’s perfect.”
Will grinned down at screen, Willy’s mouth was wide open, and Molly wide eyed as they flash hit them. Even Beverly had the beads of her necklace firmly in between his lips even as she hung onto Santa’s lap.
Although there were ones with the twins sleeping and Beverly yet not bored with the procedure, but none showed who they were as well. It showed both the calm and the chaos of their lives.
Will clicked the button to order a few copies, picking one extra to go up on the fridge beside the one they already had.