Chapter Text
“Girls!” Cady calls from the kitchen. Her twins both come barreling down the stairs to find her.
“Yeah, Mama?” Layla asks, panting slightly.
“Uncle D is going to watch you tonight, your mom and I have a-“ Cady replies.
“Date night, we know, Mama. It’s Saturday,” Leo finishes. Cady chuckles.
“We are pretty predictable, aren’t we?” She hums. “We’ll drop you off around five and be back to get you by eleven.”
“Ooh, late night,” Layla teases. Cady rolls her eyes.
“You know what we get up to,” she huffs. “Your boring old mothers.”
“Mom told us about the time she stole a sheep when you were in high school,” Leo pipes up. “What happened to that?”
“We happened,” Cady laughs. “She grew up and settled down.”
Janis comes in then, paintbrush behind her ear and carrying a mug. “Hey, gang. What are we talking about?”
“You,” Layla teases. “And how you’re old and boring now.”
“Ah,” Janis says with a knowing nod. She takes a drink of whatever’s in her mug. “Oh, that’s the paint water, what-ugh!”
“Jay,” Cady huffs around a laugh. “Maybe you haven’t settled down. Why do you never look at things before you drink them?”
“I like to live on the edge,” Janis responds, wiping her tongue off on a paper towel.
“We’re in our forties now, you should probably step back from that edge,” Cady giggles as she hands her some juice to rinse the taste from her mouth. “Goofy.”
Janis thankfully takes the offered beverage and chugs it, then wraps her wife in a hug. “Thank you.”
“Of course, my love,” Cady chuckles, turning around and pulling her wife in for a kiss. The twins both exclaim in disgust and run back upstairs. “You still taste like paint, go brush your teeth.”
“Okay,” Janis pouts.
————-
“Layla! Leo!” The twins’ cousin, Milly, yells as she runs to greet them.
“Let them breathe, Mills,” Damian chides gently as his nieces are squished in a tight hug by his youngest child. Milly moves onto her aunties, so Damian takes his turn to tackle the twins.
“Hey, Uncle D,” Leo says, sounding a little choked as she’s wrapped in a tight hug. It’s what they’ve come to expect after thirteen years of knowing him. Janis eventually pries him off her daughters for her turn, and Cady joins in.
Layla and Leo head into the living room as Milly drags them along. Aaron is there playing a video game with his son, Ellis.
“Ellie!” Layla yells teasingly, running to tackle her cousin. Ellis has roughly four seconds to scramble to put his controller down and get into a safe position before she lands on him with a dull thud.
“I hate you so much,” he grumbles. “Hey.”
“Whatcha playing?” Layla asks, yelping as Leo drags her off to allow her cousin some personal space.
“Fifa,” Ellis says once he’s got his hair back to its properly ruffled state.
“Ooh, can I play?” Layla asks. Aaron hands his controller over. “Hehe. I’m gonna kick your ass.”
“Hey!” Cady and Janis both call at the same time. Layla shrinks into herself.
“Sorry, moms,” she mumbles. Cady raises an eyebrow at Janis, who also shrinks into herself. They both know she’s the reason why their twins know every curse word in the dictionary. “Sorry El.”
“It’s fine,” Ellis chuckles. “I’ll kick your butt first.”
Layla snaps to attention and goes to work trying to beat her cousin. Aaron comes to join his husband and friends for a chat while Milly drags Leo to the backyard to do dances.
After a nice, but long, conversation, Cady and Janis kiss their twins goodbye and head out. Damian and Aaron are now left alone with four children. Oh boy.
————
Leo teaches Milly bits of her routines until sunset, at which point they’re called inside. Both of them are sweaty and frizzy-haired and immediately head to the kitchen to chug down water.
Leo plops down next to her sister and leans in, covering her twin in sweat. Layla shoves her away with a groan.
“Ew, Leo! Gross!”
“Like you don’t do it to me,” Leo retaliates. “What happened to kicking his butt?”
“I’ve never played this before!” Layla says.
“You played soccer for, like, five years, how is a video game of it that different?” Leo teases. Ellis tugs Leo down to the floor by an ankle to stop their bickering. She yelps and thumps to the ground beside him. “Ow!”
“You’re a gymnast, don’t you fall all the time?” Ellis teases.
“Yeah, on my face, usually,” Leo grumbles, rubbing her sore bum. She notices red on her hand when she shifts positions. Oh, hell.
————-
“Where did Leo run off to?” Aaron asks as he comes back into the room.
“I dunno, she just ran upstairs,” Ellis shrugs. “She was fine before, I don’t know what happened.”
“I’ll go check on her,” Layla says. “Here, Uncle Aaron.”
“Thanks, squirt,” Aaron says, taking the controller back from his niece and getting back into the game.
“Lolo? Where did you go?” Layla calls as she heads up the stairs to find her twin.
Nothing.
“Hey!” Layla yelps as a hand suddenly snatches her arm and hauls her into the bathroom. “Leo, what-“
“We have a situation,” Leo hisses.
“Okay, you couldn’t just tell me that? Where have you been?” Layla grumbles. “What do you want, dummy?”
“I’ve been in here,” Leo murmurs. “It… happened.”
“What?”
“It,” Leo says again, sharper. Layla’s eyes go wide.
“Ohhhh,” she says. “That’s… fine, you know? Mom and Mama told us about this, they said not to be embarrassed. It’s natural, Lolo.”
“Yeah, but there’s nothing to use. Our backpacks are at home and there’s nothing here,” Leo huffs. “I think Ivie took all her stuff with her to college. I don’t want to get blood all over the place.”
“Oh yeah,” Layla agrees. “Should I go ask Uncle D to buy some?”
“No!”
“Why not? You need something,” Layla huffs. “Or are you just gonna hide in here until Mom and Mama come get us?”
“I don’t want him to know,” Leo grumbles. “It’s… it’s embarrassing.”
“You’re literally doing the opposite of what Mom and Mama said to do,” Layla says. “Uncle D, like, changed our diapers and stuff. He has two daughters, and one of them definitely already has her period. He’s not gonna care or judge you for needing stuff.”
“Yeah, I know, but-“ Leo begins, getting cut off by a knock on the door.
“Ladies, is everything good? You’ve been in there a while,” Damian asks through the door. “We’re gonna watch a movie soon.”
The twins frantically gesture to one another, having a conversation without words. Layla wants to tell him, Leo doesn’t. Layla wins.
She checks to make sure everything important is covered to protect her twin’s privacy and then opens the door. Damian pokes his head in with his eyes closed.
“What’s up?” He asks.
“Japan is invading,” Leo grumbles.
“What?”
“Satan’s sacrificial waterfall,” Leo tries again.
“Oh,” Damian says. “Oh my gosh! Aww, honey! You guys are growing up quick, holy shit.”
“Why did you get that one?” Layla asks.
“That’s what your mom called it when we were in high school,” Damian explains. “And college. Living together was rough those weeks.”
The twins both giggle a bit, imagining their mom clinging to Damian and whining at him. It’s nothing they haven’t seen before, but imagining them younger is fun.
“Oh, we don’t have anything here, do we?” Damian suddenly realizes. “Shit. Which one of you is it? Both?”
“Just her,” Layla teases. “But yeah, she needs stuff.”
Damian thwacks her on the head gently. “It’s gonna happen to you, soon, be nice. Leo, honey, why don’t you take a shower? I’m gonna take your darling twin to go buy you some stuff you’ll need.”
“Did I get blood anywhere?” Leo asks anxiously as Damian hands her a few soft towels.
“I didn’t see any,” Damian shrugs. “If you did it’s not a big deal, after being married to your uncle for twelve years I know how to get stains out of everything. Speaking of, give Layla anything that got stained, we’ll wash that for you.”
“Okay,” Leo murmurs. “Thanks, Uncle D.”
“Of course, honey. You relax, everything’s good,” Damian comforts, hauling Layla back out of the bathroom and shutting the door. “Darling?”
Aaron pops his head out from the kitchen and looks at them as they walk downstairs. “Yeah, babe?”
“I’m taking Layla out for a while, do you have dinner plans yet?” Damian asks.
“No, why?” Aaron asks as Damian follows him back to the kitchen. He spies the slightly stained shorts in Layla’s hands. “Ah. Got it.”
Layla looks between them in confusion. “What?”
“We’re having spaghetti and meatballs tonight,” Aaron says.
“Okay, how did you-what did-“ Layla stutters.
“Both your moms always crave carbs and red meat when they’re on their periods, it’ll probably be the same for you two. You learn stuff quick when you live with two ladies,” Damian shrugs.
“Daddy, can I come?” Milly asks. “Please? I’m done with chores.”
“Of course, Froggy,” Damian says, grinning as his daughter squeals and runs off to find some shoes. “El, do you want to come?”
“Where are you going?” Ellis asks.
“Just the convenience store, probably,” Damian says. Ellis shakes his head and goes back to his video game. “Alrighty. Let’s go!”
————-
“Layla, do you know what brand your moms bought you guys?” Damian asks once they’re in the right aisle.
“No,” Layla says. “Does it really matter? They all look the same.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter all that much,” Damian shrugs. “But they are different sizes, so we’ll have to read them first.”
“These ones are pretty,” Milly says, pointing to a box.
“Those are tampons, honey, we need pads,” Damian says. “Your moms should do tampons with you, that’s not… my area of expertise.”
“What’s a tampon?” Milly asks.
“Um… it’s kind of like a pad, but it goes inside,” Damian says. Milly pulls a face and runs away from the box. “You have a few years left, kiddo. You have time to learn.”
“It’s gonna happen to me too?” Milly huffs.
“Yep. Every month until you’re about fifty,” Damian responds with a ruffle to her hair.
“What the hell?!” Milly yells. “That’s not fair! Daddy, can’t I just be a boy like you?”
Damian and Layla both bite their lips to hold back a laugh at Milly’s reaction. Damian doesn’t even scold her for swearing.
“Do you actually want to be a boy or do you just not want a period?” Layla asks helpfully. “You don’t have to be a boy to not get one. My mom takes medicine to stop hers because it bugs her so much.”
“Oh,” Milly says. “I’ll do that. I like being a girl.”
Layla hugs her from behind and continues browsing. “This kind look familiar, I think this is what Mama got us.”
Damian grabs grabs the box and reads over it. “Sounds good to me.” He tosses it into their basket along with the nighttime variety in case someone gets their period during a sleepover. “Okay, this way.”
“Candy?” Layla asks in confusion when she sees what aisle they’ve been led to. “Why?”
“You have so much to learn, young one,” Damian tuts. He grabs a massive bag of chocolate and adds it to their basket too. Layla tries to peek at what kinds are inside and earns herself a gentle flick. “Not for you.”
“That’s all for Leo?!” Layla asks loudly. “No fair!”
“Do you currently have a torrent of blood escaping your body against your will?” Damian asks with a raised eyebrow. Layla shakes her head. “That’s what I thought. You’ll get your own bag when you get yours. I’ll fight off your moms to give you your first period chocolate. Just a few more things, then we can go back home.”
Damian grabs some spare undies and a lavender teddy, one that can be microwaved and used as a heating pad. Once that’s been added to the basket he lets each of the girls pick a face mask for themselves, and ones for him, Aaron, Leo, and Ellis too.
“Ooh, look!” Milly suddenly says, wandering off when she spies some miniature backpacks. “Daddy, can I get one?”
“Actually, yeah,” Damian says. “Layla, that’d be good for when you two don’t have your school backpacks, you could keep your stuff in there. You should pick one too.”
“Okay,” Layla shrugs, grabbing a purple one without much thought.
“This one can be for Leo!” Milly says happily, holding a blue one with her own pink one.
“Sounds good, Froggy,” Damian hums. “Okay, let’s go check out now.”
Once their few items have been purchased, Milly takes the receipt that’s nearly as long as she is and does a ribbon dance around the parking lot. Layla cheers her on and acts as a backup dancer until they make it back to the car.
“Crazies,” Damian says lovingly as they enter the car. “Buckle up, I need to go home and eat.”
—————
They hear the shower water shut off just as they get back. Damian sends Layla upstairs with the new undies and pads to give to Leo. Her twin opens the door to take them and then quickly shuts it again, locking it behind her. Layla is halfway back downstairs before she hears Leo call for her.
With an eye roll she turns back around. “What now?”
“I don’t have clothes,” Leo mumbles. “Mine are in the laundry.”
“Oh,” Layla says. She takes a deep breath and yells, “Uncle D!”
“What?” Damian yells back.
“Leo needs clothes!”
“Oh! Okay, one sec!” Damian calls.
“God, Layla, you’re so loud,” Leo grumbles through the door.
“It worked, I don’t see why you’re complaining,” Layla huffs back.
Damian pads his way up the stairs. “You guys can’t share with Milly anymore, can you? That growth spurt you two had. Hmm.”
He disappears to his own bedroom and comes back with some of his old sweatpants and a hoodie.
“These will have to do, Aaron’s old stuff is all in the laundry,” he says, handing them to Layla to give to her twin. “Leo, dinner’s done whenever you’re ready, honey.”
“Thanks, Uncle D,” Leo calls through the door.
“Of course,” Damian says as he heads back to everyone downstairs.
“Do you need anything else, Your Highness?” Layla grumbles.
“No, leave me alone,” Leo says back.
“Suit yourself. Love you,” Layla calls as she also heads back downstairs.
“Love you too!”
————-
Leo comes padding gently down the stairs a few minutes later. Her wet hair is loosely braided over her shoulder and she’s in her uncle’s sweats, the pants tied with a hair tie at her waist and cuffed to fit, and the sleeves of the shirt rolled up several times.
Layla watches in a mix of awe and concern as her small dancer of a twin sister wolfs down three portions of their spaghetti dinner in the same time it takes her to finish one. Leo sticks her tongue out at her when she catches her staring.
-
“Whoa,” Leo says when she spies the massive bag of candy and teddy bear waiting for her on the couch after dinner. “This is all for me?”
“Of course,” Damian says. “Celebrate your next forty-odd years of misery, come on.”
“Leo, look,” Milly insists, dragging her to see the teddy bear. “He smells nice and you can cook him so he gets warm!”
“Thanks, Mills,” Leo chuckles. “Did you name it yet?”
“No,” Milly murmurs. “Um… Theo!”
“I like it,” Leo nods.
“Oh, wait!” Milly yells suddenly, running to grab the backpacks they bought.
“Milly, inside voice, darling,” Aaron scolds gently. There’s not much use to it, Milly is so exuberant all the time.
“Sorry Papa,” Milly says shyly. “Here!”
Leo takes it curiously. “Thank you.”
“For when we don’t have our school bags,” Layla explains. “Mine’s purple, don’t touch it.”
Leo rolls her eyes. “Sure, like I want your stuff. Hey, that’s mine!”
Layla quickly stuffs the rest of her stolen piece of chocolate into her mouth so Leo can’t have it back. “Heh.”
“Loser,” Leo huffs.
“Settle down,” Damian chuckles, grabbing his daughter and sitting on the couch for a movie while Milly passes out the face masks. Ellis cuddles into his side, and Aaron sits by him. Leo and Layla take their usual place on the ground by everyone’s feet. Leo holds her new warm teddy bear to her cramping tummy and forces her twin to cuddle her.
————-
“Heyyy,” Cady greets as they enter the house a few hours later. Milly runs to go hug her aunties.
“Hey, Milly Billy!” Janis greets, scooping her niece up and carrying her back to the living room. “Aww.”
Her twins are both sound asleep on the floor and almost completely intertwined. She can’t totally tell where one ends and the other begins.
“Why is Leo in Damian’s clothes?” Cady asks, taking a few pictures of her daughters actually tolerating each other.
“And why is there so much chocolate?” Janis adds, setting Milly down to go back to her own family.
“Leo started her period, her stuff got stained,” Damian explains. Aaron heads to go grab said clothes from the dryer. “So we took a fun little trip to the convenience store.”
“Poor kid,” Janis hums. “I didn’t even think of that, we gave them stuff to keep in their school bags but I forgot to give them anything for when they’re… not at school.”
“She was fine, she actually handled everything pretty well,” Damian shrugs. “Did you ladies have fun?”
Cady starts giggling suddenly, and Janis pouts. “I only hit the ceiling one time!”
“Jay, we went bowling,” Cady giggles. “I still don’t know how you managed it, that ball was heavy.”
“It was one time! I beat you, anyway,” Janis grumbles.
“I let you win,” Cady retaliates. “Get our children.”
Janis carefully pries the twins apart and scoops up Layla while Cady takes all of their things. Cady carefully pecks her daughter on the forehead as Janis carries her past and giggles quietly as her nose twitches.
Janis comes back once Layla is safely in the car and grabs Leo to carry her out as well. Leo is a lighter sleeper and wakes up as she’s lifted from the ground.
“Hey, Mommy,” she yawns. Janis chuckles and kisses her forehead.
“Hey, Bee. I hear you had a big day,” she whispers back. Leo nods and cuddles into her. Cady kisses her forehead too, and her daughter grins a little. “Bye guys. Thank you for taking care of her.”
Aaron and Damian both wave as the ladies all leave. Janis puts Leo in the back by her sister and gets into her own seat to take her family home. Leo falls back asleep almost immediately, so Cady and Janis are almost alone together.
Cady looks at her when she hears a sniffle. “Mpendwa, what’s wrong?”
“They’re growing up,” Janis whispers. “Leo has her period, she’s-she’s a teenager. They both are, they’re not… they’re not my little ones anymore.”
Cady grins sadly at her and squeezes her hand. “I know. We can’t stop time. But they’ll always be our babies.”
Janis nods and squeezes her back, blinking the tears out of her eyes so she can drive safely.
—-
Janis carries the twins up to bed once they get home. When she heads back to her own bedroom, she finds her wife waiting for her with an old photo album from the twins’ first few years.
Janis rushes through changing into her pajamas and brushing her teeth to cuddle in with her wife. She and Cady stay up late, reminiscing over the photos and even farther back.
“Did you ever think when you rescued me from the bathroom that day in high school that we’d be here?” Cady asks quietly once photos have been seen and stories retold.
“I could only dream it, Sunshine,” Janis murmurs back. Cady scoffs and nudges her.
“You’re so poetic,” she chuckles. Janis rests the photo album on her nightstand and grabs her wife for their nightly cuddle session. Once the lights are off and they’re holding each other close, Cady whispers, “I’m glad we’re here.”
“I am too, baby,” Janis whispers back in between kisses. “I am too.”