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It had been three years.
Three years since Helena had seen her only son for the last time.
But right this moment, at Isabel’s birthday party, across the ballroom, Eddie’s partner, both at and outside of work, the man she only met a handful of time, the last time that fateful day she last spoke to her son-
That man, that she couldn’t remember the name of, with his curly hair and his weird mark above his left eye, this very man was holding a little boy in his arm. A little boy that was the spitting image of her Eddie.
Helena held her breath, as she watched the crowd around them. So many people, members of the Diaz family, coming from across the country, getting together to celebrate their matriarch- so many of them stopped to greet the man warmly, while barely any of them had even acknowledged her. Or Ramon, for all that mattered. Her husband had received stiff nods at best, maybe some tights smiles, but even right now, standing by his mother’s side with Pepa, no one really paid him attention.
But Helena didn’t care how people treated Ramon, because her eyes couldn’t leave the little boy that looked so much like her son.
He looked shy, hiding against- what was his name, again? Arh, it just escaped her- but he was hiding into the man’s neck, holding a weird looking duck plushie under his arm, because his little hand was gripping tightly onto the man’s shirt.
The little boy himself was wearing a baby blue polo shirt, with little tan shorts, white socks with dots and the cutest little shoes- Helena had forgotten, Sophia only had girls, and Adriana didn’t have kids yet, so she had forgotten little outfits for baby boys, and she had always thought boys’ clothes were cuter, looking like little men.
The little boy didn’t look like a little man much. To be fair, he appeared young, less than three years old…
Around her, suddenly, there was a commotion, some children screeching and running around. Her gaze broke from the mini version of Eddie to frown at the rambunctious kids, following one, a little girl, who detached from the group to come throw herself against the legs of the man with the birthmark- what the hell was his name, again? Maybe Ramon would remember.
But then, the man crouched down to pick her up with his free arm, propping her on his hip like it was natural, like he had done it a thousand times, like holding two little kids at the same time-
The little girl was definitely related to the little boy. And not like third or second cousins, no. No, they were siblings.
They were twins.
Her gaze returned to the man, as she finally let out the breath she had been holding onto.
Three years ago, he had been pregnant then, and one of the causes of her argument with Eddie. Well, she never really considered it an argument, no one had really shouted. But her and Ramon had reminded Eddie about their opinion on Male Omegas, and how it was disgraceful to their family. Eddie had not seemed surprised by their words, almost as if he had expected them. And he didn’t even try to defend his case, or find excuses or solutions. He listened to them intently, watched them like a hawk, like Eddie did, never something to add, never defending himself.
“If that’s how you feel, that’s fine,” Eddie said at the end of Ramon’s list of complaints and criticism about Male Omegas.
“Eddie-“
“I think that’s better, in fact,” he concluded, with a nod.
Helena had expected a call, about the birth of her next grandchild- grandchildren, then.
(A boy and a girl. She had not known. Eddie had not told her. No one had.)
The man had looked visibly pregnant then, so she had given it three months, max.
Six months later, and still no news.
She didn’t want to ask anyone. She had her pride, and her son was being an idiot again, he was in the wrong. He would come back in due time.
Or though she had thought.
She had pushed Ramon to ask his mother and sister. Both had stayed evasive, and none had said anything. Helena had gone as far as imagined the pregnancy didn’t go to term. It was common for male Omegas, after all.
But now, three years later, she had the visible proof that it did go to term, and to two babies.
And she didn’t know.
Helena moved before really thinking about it, crossing the room, pretending she was ignoring the people that wanted to talk to her, even if no one was really paying her attention anyway.
When she was a few feet away from the man, he finally seemed to notice her.
His eyebrows raised a bit, but he didn’t look shocked.
From up close, she could see the little boy better. If he had the same complexion as Eddie, as well the same hair colour and texture, and his nose- he had the eyes of the one that gave birth to him, a stormy blue colour, darker than his polo.
She barely had time to notice any details of his face, before he burrowed back against his father? birth giver?
He also tightened his hold onto his weirdly proportioned duck.
Helena’s eyes jumped briefly to the little girl, stopping in her tracks at the look she was giving Helena, a stink face that was so familiar, and yet estranged. That was Eddie all over the place. She also had the blue eyes, her skin a bit lighter than her brother, but darker than the man that was holding her. Her hair was the same colour as Eddie’s and her twin, but she had curls in them, pulled right now in a wonky half-up, half-down that had seen better days. Her mint, stripy dress was creased and what looked like tomato sauce stain at the front of it, and she was barefoot, only one of those cheap, beach cord bracelet tied around her ankle, like she had just been picked out of the dirt mere second before running in.
Helena didn’t hide her disparaging look, but the little girl didn’t lower her gaze either.
“Hi,” the man finally said, offering her a polite nod. “It’s nice to see you.”
Was it, really?
“It’s good to see you, too,” she said with a similar nod. “It has been a while.”
“Yeah,” he replied with a tight smile, not following up, a weird silence falling between then. “I mean-“
“And who-“
They both started to say at the same time, stopping awkwardly to let the other finish.
“You,” Helena said first.
“No, you go-“
“And who are those little persons?”
“Ah, uh, this is Ines,” the man said lifting the little girl a little bit, whose dark glare had still not left Helena, “and this is Gabriel,” lifting the little boy, who gave her a brief glance.
Gabriel, like Isabel’s father.
Helena could see why both Pepa and her mother had kept such tight lips. Ramon would be furious.
She nodded politely, her eyes still fixed on the little boy, this little Eddie- she could see some similarities with his other parent, especially from up close. Not just the eyes, of course. No, there was something else, but he still looked more like his dad-
The little girl- Ines- scoffed, and shook her head. Helena’s eyes snapped to her.
But a chuckle forced her gaze to continue to the person standing next to the trio, someone she had not registered before-
“Christopher?”
Ice fell over her. With her thoughts fully onto the little boy, she had forgotten about her first grandbaby-
“She’s usually a good judge of character,” the boy- no, the young man said. He was almost as tall as his father, way taller than her by now. The mope of curls on the top of his head wasn't unlike the one to the man with the birthmark, and his striking blue eyes behind his glasses had something mischievous too. He was wearing a larger shirt, with loose fitted pants like the youth liked to wear nowadays. He was still leaning on his crutches, adult ones now…
“You’ve grown so much!” Helena said, a hand over her chest. She had last seen him about two years ago, when he came to stay with Adriana (and not with her and Ramon, because nephew and aunt had fun plans together and not them). He had come over for lunch, but had also not mentioned any siblings, even though they would have been born then. Helena had not wanted to ask him, in case the pregnancy had gone sour, and didn’t want to traumatise him more than he already was.
But no. He wasn't traumatised, actually leaned over his little sister, making her pull her shoulders up as he tickled her neck and she giggled.
“He’s taller than Eddie,” Eddie’s partner said, refocusing her attention on him.
“But not as tall as you, Buck,” Christopher added.
Buck!
She remembered now. It wasn't his real name, a nickname, from what she had gathered all those years ago. It sounded stupid, if Helena could say so herself.
Thank god they had used a Diaz’ family name than let him come up with something more egregious.
“Mija, I was looking for you!”
A voice Helena recognized so easily broke her train of thoughts. She had barely time to turn around before Eddie passed her without even looking, going straight for the little girl in Buck's arms.
She clasped her hands over her mouth as to hide her giggle, and Helena could only imagine what punishment would the attitude bring.
But Eddie just scooped her out of Buck's, before leaning to drop a kiss on the little boy’s cheek, and on Buck's lips.
He then turned towards Christopher, and a silent exchange seemed to happen between the two of them.
“Don’t you dare-“ Christopher said warningly, Helena expecting a screaming match to start, but instead, Eddie leaned forward dramatically with loud kissing noises, to the delight of the two small children.
And Christopher actually let his father kiss him on the forehead, but not without a roll of his eyes. And a smile, that Helena wasn't used to seeing.
But she didn’t linger on it, as her eyes caught onto Gabriel, who was now overtly laughing due to his father’s antics, and… he didn’t look like Eddie anymore.
Oh dear lord, Helena thought, as Buck's face, right next to Gabriel's, their cheeks pressed together, a large grin as he watched Eddie and Christopher, perfectly matched on Gabriel’s face.
Helena felt a pinch in her heart, hurt to see her little Eddie disappearing, behind the face of this other man. She had thought…
She didn’t know what she had thought.
But before she could think about anything that had just happened, Eddie seemed to sense someone else was around, and finally turned to face her, Ines still in his arms.
If he was surprised to see her, he didn’t let it show, his expression souring immediately.
“Mom,” he said, tone accusatory rather than greeting.
“Eddie,” she offered a soft smile, under the still present glare of her granddaughter, identical to Eddie’s.
Now she could see him better, she realized he was similarly dressed to Buck, even though his shirt was cream and loose fitted. And on his fingers was hanging a pair of little sandals.
“It’s good to see you,” Helena said warmly. Eddie didn’t return the sentiment, as he studied her. Helena didn’t know what conclusion he came to. “I’ve met Ines and Gabriel,” she said, eyes shifting between the two toddlers, “they are absolutely lovely, Eddie.”
Ines huffed in Eddie’s arms, starting to wriggle out of his hold. Eddie’s attention returned to her immediately, asking her softly what she wanted.
Helena couldn’t hear what she was saying, but Eddie was listening intently to her, but so did Buck and Christopher.
“I’ll come with you,” Christopher suddenly said to something the little girl said, making her grin.
“Do you want to go with them?” Buck asked softly to Gabriel in his arms. Except he looked away from his siblings to notice Helena’s eyes on him, making him shake his head, and burrow back against Buck's neck.
Buck chuckled, bringing his now free hand to his son’s head and holding him tight.
“I’ll go and then you go,” Helena heard Ines speak for the first time. She was talking fast, not really articulating, but she was loud, getting her twin to look back at her. She extended a hand towards him, and both Buck and Eddie took a step towards each other for the brother and sister to get closer.
Ines grabbed onto Gabriel’s cheeks, Eddie raising a hand to make her go softer, but Gabriel let himself be held like that, and Ines said something to him. Once again, his eyes shifted to Helena, but eventually he nodded.
Then Ines turned to Buck, putting her hands on his cheeks, and he grinned, before rubbing his nose against her cheek and kissing her there, scent-marking her.
Ines patted the duck plushie, before demanding to be put down. Eddie sighed but smiled so tenderly as he crouched down. She was about to bolt, her little legs already half running, but Eddie held her back with an arm around her waist.
Helena was annoyed by the little girl, a typical child that was not being told no enough and who did whatever she wanted. If only she had a firm hand to discipline her, they probably would have less problems with her.
Not that Helena knew they had problem with her, but it was just an easy guess.
Eddie stopped Ines from running away, even though she was trying to detangle herself from his hold, but Eddie was saying something to her that Helena couldn’t hear, as the crowd suddenly got louder around them, but when Eddie pointed at Christopher, Ines stopped wrestling, looking up her big brother, who winked at her.
She looked back at Eddie and nodded, looking him straight in the eyes.
Then he brought the shoes up, probably asking her to put them back on, but she shook her head, and he nodded, finally letting her go with his own rub of his nose against her temple, and a kiss at the same place.
Helena was fully expecting the little girl to take off like a rocket, but she just rushed to come stand next to Christopher, before the two walked away.
Helena wanted to remind them to be careful with Christopher’s crutches, either for the child not to make him fall, and for him to not step on her with it.
But as she was opening her mouth, Eddie was already back up and looking at her, his frown back on his face. He was now standing closer to Buck, and he wrapped an arm around his waist, almost protectively. Helena had no idea from what.
“Uh, we should find our table, Pepa said the kids’ food was going to be put out soon,” Buck said, looking uneasily between mother and son. With one long last look, Helena trying to find something to say, Eddie tore his gaze away from her to fully turn his attention back to his partner. His Omega, his mate.
Naturally, as Eddie said something to Buck that she once again couldn’t hear, Eddie slid Gabriel from Buck's arm into his, the little boy going easily, his little arms already extending towards his father.
Once his son was settled safely on his hip, Eddie threw her a last look, before guiding Buck around Helena. Buck, who offered her a tight smile that she wanted to slap off his face.
Helena found Ramon by himself, as his sister and mother wondered off to talk to other people.
“Eddie has a son,” the first thing she said as she came to stand next to him.
“Yes, I’m aware of Christopher,” he grumbled with a frown.
“No,” she hissed, flushing hot, “he had another one.”
“They had the child?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yes, that’s what I’m telling you. They also had a daughter,” she added as a second thought.
“They had another child?” Ramon looked shocked.
“No, it’s the same- they had twins.”
“What?”
“The boy, he looks just like Eddie. And do you know what they named him?” Ramon shook his head, hanging on her words. “Gabriel.”
The frown returned on his face.
“Like mi Abuelo,” he breathed out, to himself than for her sake.
“I know!”
“Ramon, Señor Garcia wants to-“ Pepa came back, Isabel with her, and Ramon turned towards them.
“You let Eddie call his son Gabriel,” he said, tone accusatory. Helena stood next to him, crossing her arms over her chest.
Pepa rolled her eyes, while Isabel started muttering.
“Dios Mio, Ramon, why do you care?”
“Did you ask everyone if they were fine with that? What if someone else wants to use the name? But now, you just gave it to Eddie and his-“ Ramon started, face scrunching in disgust.
“ ¡Cuidado con lo que dices! Y no hables en ese tono con tu madre.”
Be careful what you say, and don’t take this tone with your mother.
Helena didn’t speak Spanish, but she had been around it enough that she could recognized some of the words and meanings.
She didn’t intervene, especially because Pepa was looking directly at her, almost daring her to say something.
“I gave them the name,” Isabel said proudly. “There was no one to ask. And if anyone else wants to use the name, they are free to, Eddito y Evancito don’t mind! Maria, two houses down from me, you know, from the Bernal back at home, she loved the name Ines, and her son named her daughter that! Eddie and Evan were happy for them to! So they won’t mind if someone else wants to call their child Gabriel.”
Ramon gasped.
“You let them use Ines?”
“I didn’t let them do anything! They are free to do what they want! And anyway, they had found the name without knowing about mi Ines,” she said, tapping a closed fist over her heart.
Helena frowned, confused because she had never heard that name in the Diaz’ family before.
“So you let them desecrate anything,” Ramon said, shaking his head, and Pepa groaned, her whole head rolling with her eyes.
Helena had to bite her tongue to not say anything to her sister-in-law.
She remembered fighting with her about the name Edmundo. Pepa had wanted to use it too, but Eddie was born before her first son, her second child. Helena had reminded her that Ramon, being the Alpha between the two of them, had priority anyway.
It really felt like a payback, even if Pepa had loved Eddie almost as her own once he was born, and the name argument forgotten.
Or maybe, it just had been stored away until she had an opportunity to rub it in Helena’s face.
Pepa had apparently supported Eddie and Buck's relationship from the beginning, and she wondered if maybe she had encouraged the disgraceful union just to hurt Helena.
“Ramon, you’re being an idiot,” Isabel said, and Ramon was about to argue, but she was shaking her head. “I don’t want to hear it. I hope you haven’t said any of this in front of Eddito and Evancito, and even less in front of the Frijolitos. If you cause a scene tonight, Ramon,” Isabel said, looking intently into her son’s eyes, before shifting them to Helena, also giving her a pointed look, meaning the warning was also for her, “you are not welcome into my house anymore. Your heart is so full of hate that it pushed out all the love you used to have for your family. You have an opportunity to reconnect with your only son, to realise how good and kind Buck is, and to meet your grandchildren. Don’t mess it up!” And with that, Isabel turned around and walked away.
Pepa didn’t move to follow her mother.
“You must be happy with what you’ve done,” Helena couldn’t help but spit out. Pepa scoffed, arching an eyebrow.
“And what is it that I’ve done?”
“Encouraging Eddie in that odious relationship,“ Ramon said.
“You are unbelievable, Ramon,” Pepa replied.
“Male omegas are freaks of nature-“
“Get over yourself, Dios Mio! Shannon wasn't good enough, and now Buck-“
“She was a Beta! As an Alpha, Eddie was supposed to be-“
“With an Omega! And now he is! And they have two perfect children together, what else do you want!”
“A female Omega!”
“That is nonsense, Ramon! Do you even hear yourself? What are they saying in the churches in El Paso that boils your brains down into nothingness?”
“How dare you?” Helena gasped, making Pepa rolled her eyes. “You’ve always been jealous of Ramon and I, and you couldn’t wait to make us pay by ruining our family!”
“Oh, I didn’t have to do anything to ruin your family, you did all that really well on your own.”
“Pepa-“ Ramon gasped.
“Not everything is about you. You give me more powers than I have, because Eddie knew perfectly what he wanted, and I didn’t have to tell him anything. No one did. My only crime, if you must blame something on me, was to assure him I would still love him, whatever he chose to do.”
“That is exactly what we’re talking about!” Ramon exclaimed. “Let him believe it was fine, letting them use family names-“
“Mama already said there wasn't any letting happening. Do you really want to argue with her on her birthday party?”
“You did that because we didn’t let you use Edmundo!” Helena pointed at her. Pepa sighed again.
“It was over thirty-five years ago Helena, get over yourself-“
“You let them convinced Mama to use Gabriel for their bastard-“
“Bastard?” Pepa exclaimed, eyes wide with shock. Even Helena felt the blow of Ramon’s words, seeing the face of the little boy behind her eyes. “Bastard?” Pepa repeated, her head shaking.
“We would know if they were married-“
“No, you wouldn’t,” Pepa spat out, “no one would tell you! But they don’t need to be married, because they are mated. They’ve been mated for years before the Littles came along.”
“We haven’t been told that,” Helena said with a frown, a hand still over her heart.
“For the same reason no one is fighting to call their child Ramon,” Pepa said dejectedly at her brother, looking him up and down, disgust all over her face.
Ramon’s face was already red, fists balled up in anger. Pepa threw a last look at him, before snapping her head around and walking away.
Ramon stomped in the opposite direction, leaving Helena alone in the middle of the room. She felt eyes on her, and she caught people starring, seemingly having heard the entire exchange. She decided to go freshen up in the bathroom.
As she came out, more people had started sitting down, and across the room, she could see Eddie and Buck, each with a child on their lap.
Before she could decide what to do, she saw Sophia by the drinks.
She caught her daughter by the arm, grabbing her attention.
“Mom-“
“You didn’t tell me Eddie had twins,” Helena accused.
“You didn’t ask,” Sophia deadpanned, and Helena opened and closed her mouth in disbelief.
“Would you have told me if I had?” she asked flippantly.
“No,” Sophia replied, not hesitating. It would have had the same effect if she had slapped Helena across the face.
“What do you mean, no?”
“Well, it wasn't really for me to say. And if Eddie wanted you and Dad to know, he would have told you himself, so…” Sophia shrugged.
“What have we done for you all to treat us so poorly,” Helena asked, tears springing to her eyes. Sophia sighed.
“Listen Mom, I don’t know what to tell you, but I remember you saying to Eddie three years ago that you wouldn’t be here for him if he didn’t come to reason, that you didn’t want to be part of this if he didn’t change his mind.”
“Oh so now, it is our fault?”
“What did you expect? You and Dad basically told him that if he didn’t dump his pregnant mate, you didn’t want to hear from him ever again! Did you think he would just… do that?”
Helena opened her mouth, but closed it again, because… yes. Eddie had made a lot of bad choices in his life, but he had always listened to them eventually.
“Oh my god, you really did. Mom, that’s insane!”
“Why- how? How is that crazy to expect from your brother he comes to his senses! He did it with Shannon, I don’t see how it’s different this time!”
“Because he didn’t, with Shannon. She left. Whatever Eddie felt for her, he would have never left her of his own choice, even if you had begged. And with Buck, it’s the same, but also very different,” Sophia said, looking Helena up and down, like she couldn’t believe any of what her mother was saying.
“How so?” Helena asked sarcastically.
“They’re a bonded pair, they’ve been since the moment they met.”
Helena reeled back at that, because no, that must not be true. Shannon was still alive back then, and she would have known when they came to Eddie’s ceremony. Buck was already there, even though he was introduced as just a friend.
A friend whom Christopher had spent the entire day with.
“No,” she breathed out, as Sophia watched her closely.
“Yes. I don’t know about Buck, but Eddie knew from the beginning. It was just a matter of time. Actually, we all had to wait quite a while before they finally took that step in their relationship,” Sophia smiled like she was remembering something sweet. Helena wanted to shake her.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” she asked her daughter, betrayal strong in her tone.
“Again, wasn't mine to tell, and I found out by accident anyway. But you can’t tell me you’re surprised Eddie wouldn’t share that information with you, seeing what you and Dad have been saying about male Omegas all of our lives.”
“Then he knew it was wrong! Why didn’t he stop it?”
“Mom,” Sophia chuckled, “I don’t think Eddie ever wanted to stop it. And look, seeing how cute the babies they make are, I can’t fault him,” her daughter concluded with a smug smile.
Helena gasped again, as Sophia walked away with a laugh.
Helena ruminated most of the evening. Her and Ramon were at a table with some of his cousins of similar age, but she barely joined in the conversation, rather keeping looking at the table where Buck was sitting, Gabriel on his lap, and Christopher next to him. The teenager was on his phone, while Buck was seemingly colouring with Gabriel.
Eddie and Ines were nowhere in sight.
“Who’s Ines?” She had asked once it was just her and Ramon. He just groaned and waved her off, as he was serving some food from the buffet on his plate.
Helena stomped, demanding an answer from her husband.
“It’s just- my Abuela, she had a sister, Ines.”
“I’ve never heard of her,” Helena said with a frown.
“She died in the Revolution. I never met her.”
Helena wanted to push more, to know what Ramon knew, but that wasn't urgent. She left the table, and walked towards the one where only Buck, Gabriel and Christopher were sat at.
“Hello,” she said, her eyes on the little boy.
“Oh, hey,” Buck said, looking surprised to see her again. And maybe a little bit uncomfortable. Helena pulled the chair next to him, before sitting down there. Christopher looked up from his phone.
“That’s quite the duck you’ve got there,” Helena said to Gabriel. The little boy was still holding a yellow crayon while looking at her with his big eyes. Once again, the resemblance with Eddie was blatant, the weariness almost the same.
“Yes, that’s Goose, isn’t it, baby?” Buck said, looking down at the little boy, who looked at his plushie that was resting on the table by his drawing, and grabbed him by the long neck to pull him against his chest. “Is it Goose?” Buck repeated, leaning a bit to look at the little boy. Gabriel looked up to Buck, traits softening once he met his eyes, before nodding slowly.
“Goose,” he whispered, tightening his hold.
“Do you like ducks, Gabriel? Are they your favourite animal?” Helena asked. Once again, the little boy looked at his parent, and Buck smiled at him while tilting his head.
“What is your favourite animal, baby?” Buck asked softly.
“Moff,” Gabriel said, still looking at Buck, and Buck nodded.
“I knew you were gonna say that,” Christopher chimed in, and Gabriel turned to look at him, before melting into a shy smile.
“Moff?” Helena repeated, uncertain.
“Moth,” Christopher corrected her.
“Oh,” she said, a bit disgusted at the choice for a two-something years-old.
Gabriel’s face had returned to his neutral, haunting expression.
“They are super cool, aren’t they, Gabriel?” Buck said excitedly. The little boy barely nodded as he was still watching her. “They are really old, even older than dinosaurs! Some of them are also really big, and they are both fuzzy and scaly! Isn’t that cool?”
Buck wasn't asking her, thankfully, because she thought it was gross more than anything else.
But Gabriel’s smile had returned as he looked at Buck, nodding at every facts, before petting his duck.
“Yes, that’s right! We did touch some moths at the Zoo the other day.”
“We so should go back,” Christopher said, and Buck nodded at him.
“That’s a great idea! And Papi can stay outside so that he doesn’t scare the moths by squeaking everytime one of them flies past him.”
That got a laugh out of Gabriel, his face scrunching and matching Buck's own wide grin.
Papi? Who the hell was that!
“That’s quite an unusual choice for children,” Helena said. Buck, Christopher and Gabriel looked up at the same time, and their likeness was eery. Christopher wasn't related to Buck in any shape, way or form, and yet, as the three boys looked at her, she could almost see it.
“Why not?” Christopher shrugged, a bit flippant, in a similar manner to Eddie.
“They are not…” she wasn't sure where she was going with that, leaving it floating in between them.
Christopher then sighed and rolled his eyes, before returning his attention onto his phone. Helena frowned, about to admonish him for his attitude, but Buck cut her before she could say anything.
“It was for their nursery,” he explained softly, as he rubbed Gabriel’s back, the little boy back to drawing. Or scratching the paper, whatever how you wanted to describe it. “They were asked about their favourite dinosaur, and Gabriel didn’t like any of them, did you, Baby?” he softened his voice, and that caught the little boy’s attention, already shaking his head. “So we looked at other very old animals, and moths were one of them.”
“Pretty,” Gabriel said, the r more like a w, and the accent put on the second syllable, but Buck just smiled and nodded excitedly.
“They really are.”
“Not bird,” Gabriel added, looking at Buck for confirmation.
“Nope, insects. Like butterflies.”
Gabriel hummed, and went back to waving the crayon at the paper.
“He looks so much like Eddie,” she said, not wanting to talk about moths anymore.
“They both do, yeah,” Buck said with a tender smile, his eyes never leaving his son’s face.
“How old is he?”
“They are twenty-seven months- two years and three months old, more or less.”
“He’s beautiful,” Helena added as she watched the little boy’s profile. Buck didn’t reply to that, just smiled, looking at the drawing over Gabriel’s head.
“Are you planning on others?” Helena asked after a moment of silence, verging on awkwardness.
“Hm?” The question seemed to take Buck out of his thoughts.
“Are you planning on having other children?” she asked, more firmly. “Because, you know, it’s not getting easier as you get older, you don’t want to let it for too late.”
Christopher slammed his phone on the table, making them all jump. Buck leaned forward to comfort Gabriel, who was looking at his brother, but Christopher was fixing her. Gabriel followed his gaze, turning to look at Helena.
He frowned, almost looking pained, and he whined as he turned onto Buck's lap to get to his feet and bury his face against Buck's throat, his little arms around his neck.
Helena sized up Christopher, not recognizing the grandson she had helped raised, with this attitude of his. He was taking too much of Eddie’s own behaviour, excellent example of her son’s inability to raise a child properly, let alone three!
Now his own son was scaring his little brother off.
“Ah, well-“ Buck started to say, holding onto Gabriel, a hand behind his head, the other splayed wide over his back, “you never know, and we were already happy with Chris before Ines and Gabriel. Life’s just a bonus from there.”
Helena barked a laugh.
“Ah yes, good for you! And you were lucky, a one-for-the-price-of-two’s pregnancy! That definitely makes things easier for you, doesn’t it.”
Next to Buck, Christopher took a heavy breath. Buck looked at him briefly, before looking back at Helena.
“Ah, yeah, easy. Sure,” he said with a shrug.
“I guess the price for that is raising two toddlers at once,” she pointed out with a knowing look.
“Well, they’re great, so it’s fun.”
“Oh, for sure. But it must not be easy, especially with the… personalities,” she said pointedly.
“It’s pretty smooth, we’ve got it pretty much down. And we have the support of our pack, so it does help a lot.”
Pack? Is he resuming Isabel and Pepa to pack?
You would think he would be more grateful for family.
The Diaz family used to have- be a pack, when Edmundo Senior was alive. But when he passed, Ramon was too busy to keep the pack together, and the clan split, with Isabel moving to LA to follow her daughter there.
Helena was kind of grateful, not having to be a pack Omega. She had her own kids to raise, she didn’t have the time to sort everyone else’s problems. And with Eddie going out of his way to make her life more difficult by getting a girl pregnant, she really didn’t need that.
At least, she had had Christopher out of it. Even though now, he was just like his father.
“Daddy,” she suddenly heard, interrupting the conversation she had with Buck. Ines came from behind Helena.
She was sniffing and rubbing her eyes as she grasped onto Buck's knee.
“Hey, Baby,” Buck said softly, as he moved Gabriel to the side, to lean forward enough to lift her easily onto his lap with her brother. It was her turn to nuzzle against his throat, while he said stuff she couldn’t hear into her hair.
She leaned back to look at him, still rubbing her eyes and shaking her head.
“When’s Jee coming?” Ines asked in between wet sniffs.
“Jee’s not coming tonight, baby. Remember, this is Papi’s family, for your Bisabuela’s birthday, Papi’s Abuela.”
Helena was about to lose her mind, when she realized Papi was Eddie to the kids, while Buck was daddy. She didn’t know why that would be the case, Eddie always had been Dad for Christopher, why changing it for the new children? That felt wrong and unfair! Helena hated it.
“I want Jee,” Ines whined, seemingly starting crying again.
“I know, but maybe we can see her soon.”
“When?”
“If Auntie Maddie and Uncle Chim are free, and we all had a good night of sleep, maybe tomorrow, yeah?”
Ines nodded, while Gabriel had been resting his head on Buck's shoulder this whole time, looking at his sister, his duck pressed held tight against his chest.
“Maybe it’s time to go home?” Buck suddenly said, looking up at someone behind Helena, making her turn, surprised to find Eddie standing a few feet behind, seemingly having been there for a while.
He didn’t spare her a glance. But his gaze was soft as he was looking at his children. He nodded to Buck's words.
“No,” Ines whined, as she all but collapsed in a similar position to her brother, starting to cry louder.
“I know, my love, but it’s not as much fun when everyone is tired.”
“I’m exhausted,” Christopher said, yawning loudly and stretching his arms above his head. Helena was about to admonish him as she looked around, if anyone was watching them.
But Eddie moved past her, coming to crouch by Buck's side, where Ines was rubbing her snot into his shirt, Helena assumed.
“You know how Chris get like when he’s tired,” he said.
“Chrisausorus-Rex,” Buck said with a chuckle, to which Chris roared. Both Gabriel and Ines giggled at that.
“You had a lot of fun too, didn’t you?” Eddie said to his daughter, and she nodded, rubbing her eyes with her little fists. “That’s good. And we’re gonna see them again soon, for Daddy’s birthday.”
Ines turned to look at Buck, who was smiling at her. She leaned to rub her face into his, making Buck chuckle. “That’s right. So we know we’re gonna have a lot of fun again very soon. And as Daddy said, maybe Jee and Robbie will be free tomorrow. If not, we can find fun stuff to do the five of us, yeah?”
Ines nodded, her face still pressed against Buck's.
“Ok, so let’s go to home, before Chris starts chomping at people. You know how he gets,” Eddie said with a conniving smile.
Both Gabriel and Ines turned to look at their brother, who clacked his teeth together, like he was going to bite. They squealed, nuzzling closer into Buck.
Eddie stood up and started gathering the crayons and the pieces of paper on the table. Christopher also stood up, soon followed by Buck, while Eddie crowded around to help him, with the two kids in his arms. Eddie seemed to ask him something, but Buck shook his head with a smile, and Eddie leaned to kiss him.
Helena averted her gaze, feeling like it wasn't something for her to see.
Christopher was the first one to pass by her, and he acted like he didn’t see her. Helena frowned, wanting to point out the disrespect, but Eddie was next, a bag slung over his shoulder that she had not seen, probably stored under the table, and the same little sandals as earlier in his hand.
“Bye, Helena,” Buck said with a nod. She expected him to get the two children to say goodbye to her too, but he was already following Chris, while Eddie had especially waited for him.
Helena grabbed her son’s arm in a last desperate moment. Eddie didn’t snatch himself away, but he threw her a look she didn’t like, expression hardening
“Eddie-“ she started, expecting him to say something, but instead he waited for her to continue. “I just want to get to know them more.”
His face didn’t change, but he sighed, as he looked at someone over her shoulder. When she followed her gaze, Isabel was standing across the room, watching them.
Helena looked back at her son.
“I’ll think about it.”