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"I'll just be gone for a few days." Aventurine heads to the door behind his husband. "I can probably cancel if you need me to, I don't mind-"
"Kakavasha." Ratio bounces Cora in his arms as he gives his husband a stern look. "I dare say I can keep two babies and three catcakes alive while you're gone for two days." He leans down for a kiss, and Aventurine sighs wistfully. "I just wish I didn't have to go so soon." He gives his daughter a kiss on the head and squeezes her hand gently. "Daddy will be back soon, okay?"
Ratio brings up a hand to pat his husband on the head. "You'll be late if you take any longer." He chides gently. "You can call us when you've touched down. I love you, and I will see you soon." They share another kiss, and then Aventurine leaves, eyes tearful as he closes the door behind him.
The moment the door closes, Cora whimpers and looks up at her Papa. "He'll be back in a few days." He begins bouncing her softly again, and she reaches her hands up to tap her palms on his silver-tinged beard. "Now, then," he looks at the digital clock attached to the oven, then back at his golden-haired child. "It's time for breakfast."
He brings her to her bouncer and sets her on the island counter in the kitchen. She's tucked in gently and Ratio smiles down at her as she takes an interest in seeing how many fingers she can fit into her mouth. The milk warmers are already out, but the doctor plugs both in and grabs the formula. He scoops the helpings into the bottles and intends to take them to be filled with water, but his son wails from the nursery.
That causes Cora to realize her brother's missing, which makes her begin to wail as well. "Already?" He sighs.
He makes his way to the nursery quickly, scooping his son from his crib. "Waking silently never has been your strong suit." He holds his son to his chest and rocks him in time with his slow steps as he makes his way to the kitchen.
Cora is still wailing when he comes back, and he settles Chyre into his bouncer before he turns his back on them. He hurries to add water to the baby bottles and shake them before he sets the bottles in the warmer and turns back to his children. He swipes a stray lock of purple behind his ear, then he places a gentle hand on the back tops of the bouncers and presses up and down in a steady rhythm.
Cora busts into entertained giggles before the tears stop rolling down her face. Chyre takes a little longer, but he, too, realises he's in the same room as his Papa and his sister, and he gurgles as his cries slowly peter off. The father spends a few more moments with his children, even after the beeping of the milk warmer tells him the drinks are at a good temperature.
Eventually, though, he moves away to grab the milk. Chyre once again begins to whimper, but before he can begin crying, Ratio is settling the nipple at his mouth and suddenly his world is alright. He does the same to Cora, and both children grab their bottles with their hands as they suckle down their breakfast.
Cora, ever the greedy child, finishes first. She plaps the bottle away from her mouth and stares at Ratio until Chyre is done. The bottles are set in the sink, and then Ratio slides a towel over his shoulder. "There we are." He settles his daughter onto his chest and her head onto his shoulder, and Ratio pays her back with a gentle force. As usual, she takes a bit longer to burp, and when she does, spit up spills onto the towel.
She settles back into her bouncer and resumes her endeavor to fit her hand into her mouth, and Ratio turns his attention to his son. Chyre yawns as he's picked up, and Ratio kisses his head. "Good morning to you, fili mi." The doctor slides his son over his shoulder and bounces on the balls of his feet as he pats, and within moments he hears a burp, and then Chyre is giggling. "That's my boy." Ratio chuckles as he settles the purple-haired boy back into his bouncer.
He leaves the children in the kitchen for just a few moments as he walks into his bedroom. The catcakes are still asleep on the bed, and only Spades looks up tiredly as the door opens gently. Ratio gives the catcake a scratch on the shell as he passes, and Spades settles right back down.
The doctor checks the changing table. He's alone today, so being out of an item and needing to set away to get it isn't an option. He refills the diaper bin and adds another wet wipe box under the nearly-full open one, just in case. The trash is emptied and his hands are washed, and when he comes back to his children, he sees Chyre has now joined in on Cora's activity.
Ratio rolls his eyes with an amused huff. He checks the time, and seeing it nearing 8, he frowns. "Alright. Let's begin today, shall we?" His son goes first, out of the seat and onto the living room playpen. The boy is tucked into his swing playset, and immediately he begins to slap at the brightly colored fish mobile in front of him.
Cora comes next. She's set in her swing playset, and she takes to keeping one slobbery hand in her mouth and the other to tap at the tiny screen in front of her. Ratio noticed she takes a particular interest in the purple shapes, patting them and giggling as they shine brighter and float away.
He lets them play as he grabs his laptop, his glasses, and his books from his home office. He keeps an eye on his children as he plugs in his laptop and signs into his work to begin his classes. He has a half hour before his first class starts, so he begins his day by entering grades into the gradebook. His clacking and page-flipping catches the attention of his son, who looks at him with big, curious eyes.
The doctor waves, and Chyre babbles.
His son reaches for him, and Ratio chuckles as he shakes his head. "Play with your toys." He turns his attention to his video call. Most of his class is on time, and he opens a whiteboard application and shares his screen. "Good morning. We'll start off by-"
He's cut off by a wail. He looks over his reading glasses to see Chyre throwing a fit, slapping his arms on his playpen and screeching. "One moment, please." His class watches as he leaves the screen.
By the grace of Gaiathra, Cora hasn't begun crying, so he shimmies the playpen until he can see his daughter, but she can't see him. Cora isn't usually the jealous one, but he can't afford to delay class any longer. He jogs to the front door and grabs the baby carrier. Ratio picks up his son and tucks him to his chest as he retakes his seat on the couch.
The moment his child comes into frame, the entire class spirals out of control. He keeps Chyre's face out of frame as he gives the class thirty seconds to fawn and chat, and when thirty seconds is over, he mutes everyone's microphones. "There's no doubt you have questions, but this is an educational environment and if you're curious, you may do your own research later."
And that's that. His students are unmuted, but they know better than to bring up the subject again. Occasionally, Chyre reaches up at him, and Ratio allows someone to head a discussion while he rocks his son and nods along to his babbling. He's sure this will end up on some tabloid somewhere, but as long as he keeps the baby's faces from getting out there, they'll be fine.
When the lesson is over, Chyre has taken to sucking on his sweatshirt. Despite that, he's in a good mood, so he offers his class a reward for their patience. "You may ask three questions." He allows. "I will not show their faces, but this is Chyre, and his sister is currently, playing in her playpen."
"Decide amongst yourself what your questions will be. If they're inappropriate, you will not be allowed another. You have five minutes." The class begins to chatter amongst themselves, and the doctor gets up to stretch his legs. Chyre is sleeping peacefully on the doctor's chest, and Cora is passed out in her play swing. He squats down and puts her on his hip.
Cora blinks as he moves her, but she falls back asleep within moments of being tucked into her crib. Chyre settles down just as easy, a thumb in his mouth as he rests. When the teacher gets back to his students, he puts on a pair of wireless headphones. "Go on."
His TA speaks up. "We'd like to ask if we will ever see the kids in class."
"No." He shakes his head. "Rather, not likely. I assume all of you know who my husband is, and because of that, safety is our top priority." His TA nods with a graceful smile. "Understandable. For our second question, we'd like to ask what the children like to do? As in, their favorite toys or games."
This one takes Ratio a bit to think. "I won't disclose a lot, but I will say that my son enjoys watching television and my daughter has taken a liking to anything that has to do with shapes." There's a moment of silence as he debates saying more, but his TA takes the silence as a turn for the next question and his choice is made for him.
"For the last question, we'd like to know who each kid takes after more."
Ratio blinks at the screen, and before he can stop himself, he breaks out into a small chuckle. "Ten points. Chyre takes most after my husband, but Cora seems to be more independent, so I suppose she's most like me. Though, if I had the option, I'd say she's a perfect split of us both." The class chitters and swoons, and then someone else speaks up. "Sir, which child do you love more?"
The entire moods shifts, and his face drops. "To insinuate I love one of my children more than the other is insulting. Be lucky I cannot fail you on ridiculous questions alone. Your essays are due in two days. Class dismissed." He ends the video session and closes the laptop with more force than necessary. "Foolish." He mutters as he stands.
By now, the catcakes are beginning to meow behind the bedroom door. He lets them out, and all three follow him to the kitchen. There, he grabs their kibble and gives them each a portion on their respective bowls. Clubs looks up at him as Spades and Othello dig in. He leans down to pat under the grey tabby's head, and then Clubs begins slowly eating his own food.
After setting the food back and washing his hands, Ratio checks on the children. Chyre is still suckling his thumb, and Cora has taken to sitting up, staring at Ratio as she paps at her bedsheets the moment he turns to look at her. Recognizing the tantrum for what it's about to become, he scoops her up and out of her crib before it can start. He holds her to his chest as he puts chicken tenders into the air fryer and microwaves a bowl of tomato soup.
He tries not to think about how unbalanced his diet is going to be for the next two days, while he's at it.
When the food is done, Cora is first transferred into her swing playset. This greatly pleases her, and she begins patting at the purple shapes on her playset monitor. This gives the doctor time to corral the catcakes back into the bedroom, where they begin to take issue with being caged into a single room.
"Just for a few days." He tries to reason with them. They mew in protest, and he offers them each a chicken tender. With this, they stop whining and go back to playing with the numerous toys scatter on the floor, silently. When he goes back to the living room, Cora is now sucking on one of the plastic knobs of her playset, and Chyre has since woken.
He gathers his wailing son from his bed and brings him to the playset. Chyre squirms as he realises he's being put in the swing, and when he's settled, he whimpers and begins to cry again.
Ratio looks at his backlog of grading with a sigh. "Tummy time it is."
He makes room and sets his son on the mat, and he watches as the boy begins making his way around. He first makes his way to his sister, who has no interest in watching him. Chyre takes a few minutes to pull himself up, but he gets standing in front of his sister.
Who smacks his head with the toy she was sucking on, causing Chyre to fall back like a sack of bricks.
Ratio grabs the toy from his daughter and puts it in the "to be cleaned" box of toys, and she begins crying as well. He summons his bust to drown out some of the wails, sound dampened but ever-present. He rocks Chyre in his arms and kisses his head. "Zero points for her. How absolutely rude." He coos as he checks his head for any serious injury.
Fortunately, the damage seems to be mostly to the child's ego. Chyre reaches up for his papa with soft sniffles and curious hands. He feels around the bust, and when the baby has deemed it safe, he begins reaching for it to be closer. Ratio indulges him for a moment, and then he hears an absence of crying. Looking down, he sees Cora, writhing as she sheds tears with no noise. She also isn't breathing, and Ratio finds great trouble with that.
Fortunately, he's well-read on baby behaviors, and even more well-prepared. He takes the tiny spray bottle sitting on the tv stand and sprays her with a gentle mist, and she gasps in a breath, then continues her angry tantrum, complete with kicking and screaming.
"You may throw a fit, but you may not make yourself pass out." He chides her. "This attitude will get you nowhere. We do not hit, Cora." At the mention of her name, she looks up at him, but it doesn't stop her from crying louder. Chyre begins to fuss, and Ratio sets him down for tummy time again.
As expected of his son, he learns quickly and makes his way away from his sister to his pile of wooden blocks, and Ratio feels calm enough to remove his bust.
With Chyre satisfied, Ratio turns his attention to his ailing daughter. He sits in front of her until she stops breathing again, and he sprays her one last time before he picks her up. "That's quite-" He bites his tongue so he doesn't yelp as Cora grabs a lock of his beard and tugs. "Enough of that."
Gently, her hands are pried from his beard and put onto his shirt, which she tugs and pulls and yanks until she's all tired out. She cries herself to sleep, and Ratio can't help but feel bad. He tucks her in the baby carrier he's still wearing without waking her. He eats his now-cold soup and tenders like that, keeping an eye on his son while rocking his daughter and grading papers.
Then he smells something, and once again his workflow is ruined. Not only that, but the blowout Cora has had has ruined his shirt as well. "Excellent." He sighs.
--__--
Two diaper changes and a bottle of milk for every living creature in the household later, Ratio has set the children in their play swings and changed his shirt. His next class goes by smoothly. His seniors know how he works, and the class ends ten minutes early. He blesses his class with the early dismissal, then he goes back to grading.
By two in the afternoon, Ratio's back hurts and his stomach hurts more. He leans back with a soft groan, careful not to disturb his sleeping daughter. He'll need to wake her soon, but he's enjoying the few moments of rest he can get.
That's all he gets, because soon his computer rings with an incoming call. He doesn't get the chance to see who it is before he slams the answer button. "Yes?" He growls.
Aventurine smiles softly as his video feed shows him in his bedroom. "Long day, doc?"
Ratio's lost energy comes back tenfold. "Vasha?" He smiles. "Not so much long as distracting. How is the conference?" Aventurine shrugs. "Unsurprising, but never boring. I'll tell you about it when you look like you aren't about to pass out. How are the kids? Is that Cora?"
Ratio takes her from the carrier with a nod. She wakes up with a sniffle, but Ratio cradles her and she snuggles into him with a coo. "Daddy's girl, I swear." Aventurine grins. "I'm guessing Chyre is in the playpen?" Ratio turns the computer around to show his son, flat on the floor on his back, out like a light.
Aventurine snorts. "That's my son." Ratio turns him back around and checks the time. "I assume you're going to go to bed? It's nearly midnight where you are." His husband nods. "I just finished my last meeting so I have a shower and then seven whole hours of sleep!" The gambler yawns. "I wish you were here, but I'm glad you're getting some bonding time with the kids."
Ratio nods as Cora reaches for her daddy. "You deserve a decent rest, love. I've got things covered here, don't I?" He lifts Cora into the air, and she squeals happily. He brings her down, and when he looks over, he chuckles.
Aventurine is already asleep, and while he hates to wake his husband, "If you fall asleep like this, you'll be upset in the morning and your back will hurt." The gambler opens his eyes with a startle. "I'm not sleeping yet. Just resting my eyes, see?" He stands up and takes his phone with him to the bathroom, then he sets it up on the sink. "I'll let you go," Aventurine turns the shower on as he speaks, pushing his shoulder long hair into a low ponytail. "But I'll see if I can't get out a little earlier tomorrow so we can get a bit more time together."
Ratio's heart soars at the kindness. "As much as I appreciate it, agapi mou, you should relax. If tomorrow is anything like today, you'll be exhausted when you're done. Enjoy another night of peace." He adjusts Cora on his chest with a smile. Aventurine shrugs. "I appreciate it, doc, but I'm not leaving you alone with the kids and the cats for two nights alone, not if I can help it."
"You can and you will." Ratio huffs as Cora begins to wiggle more strongly in his arms. "It's been decided. You have more than enough time to stay for another night, and if you feel like doing something, take advantage of the many relaxation services across the resort." He looks at his husband sternly, and the gambler opens his mouth to yawn.
"If I say I'll think about it, will you be happy?" "Very." Ratio raises Cora into the air, letting her giggles ring across the living room. "Now enjoy your shower and your rest. I love you, and we will talk again tomorrow."
Aventurine gives him a smile so soft, it breaks the scholar's heart to hear him yawn again. "I love you- ah, I love you too, Ver. Sleep well." Aventurine sends him off with the press of a button, and Ratio closes his laptop. "Alright." He sighs.
"Let's get you two into the stroller."
--__--
Luckily, neither child gives him trouble getting in their stroller after a half a bottle of milk. Cora is dressed in her spring best, clad in a pair of overalls and a bright red shirt with a matching pair of white sneakers. Chyre is wearing a pair of his favorite cargo shorts and a green shirt and sneakers. Ratio has chosen to wear his workout gear, sporting a loose Veritas Prime basketball jersey and mesh shorts.
He walks down the street of the gated community and to the man-made park, where he sets the stroller into park and set his children on the grass. Cora bumbles her way to him, giggling and gurgling as she makes her way. Chyre let's out a horrifying shriek upon touching grass, then he realises that the dirt can't hurt him.
Ratio can see the cogs turning in his tiny genius' head, and he picks up Chyre and pushes the dirt from his fingers before it makes it into his mouth. This again sets off the purple-haired infant, who begins to wail and try to take another scoop of dirt into his mouth.
"Chyre, no." Ratio tries again, but so does his child. "Very well." He sighs. He's forced to put Chyre in the stroller, wiping both of their hands on his jersey. "You may try again when you've calmed down."
He pulls the stroller towards him, then he pulls Cora in front of his lap. "I assume you're learning from his mistakes?" He raises a brow at his daughter, who just claps her hands and falls back onto the dirt with a giggle. She's lifted into the air with a gentle huff, up and down and up and down until she's tired of all the movement and squirms to be let down. Ratio tucks her into her stroller seat with a kiss to her head, then he turns to his son.
"Are we finished trying to make ourselves ill?" As expected, Chyre understands nothing, but he's stopped crying and is now reaching out for his father, so Ratio supposes that's good enough. He picks up his son and holds him in his arms to face the setting son. Chyre is much more happy to cuddle his father than be tossed around, and Ratio takes the moment of peace in stride.
The outing ends when the sky becomes orange and the sun kisses the horizon, and by that time both children are beginning to yawn. Ratio himself is feeling the exhaustion, and he has much more left to do today.
--__--
Bathtime is even more chaotic as usual.
This time he has two screaming toddlers to put up with, with no help. It's a long, tedious task that's only made longer when Chyre immediately soils his freshly-made diaper. In the end, both children are placated with a rubber ducky and a bright red apple floating next to them in the bath.
Next is dinner. First, he sets the children in their bouncers in the kitchen, then the milk warmer is turned on and the bottles are filled with water and formula and mixed. He sets the bottles in the warmer, then he turns to his children.
Cora looks angelic as she nibbles on her plastic faux car keys, and Chyre babbles to his father like he's discovered a new element. "Oh, I see." Ratio chuckles as he plays along. "Do elaborate." Chyre babbles and giggles and slaps the time away until the milk warmer is beeping to make itself known.
The doctor turns around to take the bottles from the warmer and test them, and when he finds they're acceptable, he slides the nipple into his children's mouths. This time, both his daughter and his son are much more tired, so he holds the bottles and occasionally gently rubs their tummies to keep them awake when their eyelids fall a little too far closed.
After both bottles are emptied, the doctor puts the bottles into the sink and slowly Chyre is taken into the bedroom first. He's laid on his bare bed, and Ratio smoothes out the tight bedsheet above and below his head a few times. It's a rush to grab Cora and come back before his son realizes he's gone, and tonight he manages to avoid a meltdown.
Cora goes down easier, babbling sleepily as she's given a kiss on the forehead. She's out within moments, which is both relieving and even more stressful than before. Ratio leans over to give Chyre a kiss on his head, but before he can lean down, he notices the infant is already out. It's unusual, considering he usually need to wait to leave until his son falls asleep, but it's not unwelcome.
He smiles softly. "Tomorrow." He promises silently. Instead, he gives a kiss to the teddy bear next to his son's bed. "I'll give you a kiss tomorrow, with interest."
He tiptoes out as silent as he can, turning on the baby monitor by the door and closing the door as softly as he can.
When he's out of the room, he tiptoes down the hall into the kitchen. He wouldn't call the room a mess, but it's far from clean. The dishes can wait until the kids are awake, just to minimize the risk of causing a meltdown. Instead, the dishes are placed gently and strategically in the sink, then he wipes down the counters and prepares meals for tomorrow.
Once he's thoroughly looked at the refrigerator and realised he can't make food in a timely manner tomorrow or silently tonight, he orders a veggie wrap and a protein shake from his favorite healthy takeout place and sets a delivery time for tomorrow. Next comes the laundry. The actual wash cycles can wait until tomorrow during the dishes, but he can ready the cycle and add the soap to make the process as quick as possible tomorrow.
All of the towels are thrown in the wash, as are the clothes from both him and the children. The drier is already empty, so his next action is to shower as the catcakes finally get free roam of the house.
Usually, he would ask Vasha to keep an eye on the baby monitor as he bathed, but tonight he knows that not only would bathing be dangerous should either infant need him, but he wouldn't be able to relax, so a bath is pointless.
The moment he steps under the shower water, his shoulders drop and he can't help but let out a groan. Tension slides off his body with each pass of soap, until the scholar feels he's relaxed enough to be able to sleep. He towels off and dries his hair, then he begins his post-shower routine.
First, the moisturizer for his hair and face. After that, he buffs and trims his nails, then brushes his teeth. He spits in the sink and looks up, and he turns to the side to tell Aventurine to hurry for bed.
Then he remembers his husband is elsewhere. He sighs deeply, looking in the mirror. Right next to his skincare products are Aventurine's, as well as the gamblers' personalized cologne. He mentally debates for a moment, then he grabs the bottle and moves to the bedroom.
He turns his light off and settles into bed. All three catcakes settle in behind him, mewing sleepily. Othello makes his way between Ratio's calves with a purr, and Spades tugs Clubs over to his Daddy's pillow. He covers his catcakes' mouths before spritzing the pillow lightly.
"Goodnight." He yawns as he slides the cologne bottle onto the bedside table, and the catcakes' snores lull him into a dreamless sleep before he can pull the covers over himself.
--__--
"I'm up, I'm up." Ratio announces as he opens his children's door. Both children are wailing, undoubtedly hungry and in need of a diaper change.
He starts with his daughter first, taking her from her crib with a grimace. "You definitely need a change." He groans. Luckily for him, she's rather amenable to the idea. She's set on the changing table and given her faux keys, and suddenly whatever her father is doing to her couldn't be less important. Once she's powdered and dressed for the day, Ratio sets her right back into her bed.
Ratio barely gets to Chyre before she begins whimpering for breakfast. Unfortunately for her, she'll have to wait a bit longer. Chyre squirms and fusses and kicks through the entire ordeal, refusing to give his exhausted father even an inch of respite.
Eventually, though, he's also changed and powdered and dressed for the day. He's taken first into the kitchen, where Ratio sets him in his bouncer and turns on the milk warmer. He goes back for Cora, who, despite wailing and fussing, hasn't let go of her toy.
She's barely settled when the milk warmer chimes that it's ready, and it's only when Ratio turns around to grab it that he realizes he forgot to prepare the bottles of formula and set them into the warmer.
With a heavy sigh, he quickly adds the milk and water to the bottles and stores them. They're set in the milk warmer, and then Ratio leans against the kitchen counter with a sigh. He faces his children and looks at his phone to check the time. "You're on time, which is commendable."
His phone screen turns off for a moment and he tries not to wince at the exhausted, wild-haired old man that looks back at him. Cora babbles at her brother, and he gurgles back. For a few more moments of what he knows will be a wild day, he can think.
When the milk is warmed sufficiently, he holds the bottles to his children's mouths as they drink. Chyre is finished first this time, and so he's the first to be burped. Ratio undoes his restraints and puts the infant's shoulder over his shoulder, and within a few soft pats, there's a large burp. "Good boy." He wipes the spit from Chyre's lips as he sets him back in the bouncer.
Cora whimpers as she reaches for her father. "There, there." He whispers. "I'm right here." He pats her back, and she babbles something as he pats her.
Unfortunately, her burping seems to have hit a roadblock, because not only does she not burp, but she begins to cry. Chyre squirms as he hears his sister's complaints. Gently, Ratio sits on the floor and crosses his legs, then he sits his daughter on his right knee. He bounces his knee gently and holds her chest as he pats her back just a touch more firmly.
Her wailing gets worse, but she doesn't stop breathing, so he continues until finally, after about three minutes of patting, she burps. When she does, her cries get a little louder. "That sounded like it hurt." He laments as he holds her to his chest. "But I assure you, it also felt good. You're just too upset to realize it."
He rocks her gently until her cries die down to sniffles and whimpers. When he tries to put her down, she begins to get teary-eyed again, and so she's picked back up. Chyre, today, seems just as needy, but when Ratio goes to pick him up, he wants no part of it. He screeches angrily when Ratio tries to pick him up, and he only stops his shrieking when he's set down gently onto the floor to crawl.
Ratio chuckles as he walks to the living room. Chyre follows him with eager but wobbly motions, babbling as he crawls. When Ratio gets to the couch, he settles Cora on his hip and opens the playgate for his son. The infant must spot something particularly interesting, because he doesn't just crawl in.
No, Ratio watches with wide eyes as his purple-haired son grapples with the edges of the playgate to get a grip, then he pulls himself up until he's standing on steady feet.
"Oh my." Ratio chuckles. "Your father will be upset you've done that without him here." It's unusually early in the developmental stage for his five month old to be standing already, but with Ratio's knowledge of Avgin genetics, it's understandable. He'd learned soon after Aventurine became with children that the Avgin people didn't have the leisure of celebrating developmental stages. "We needed to be on the move. Kids were kids, until we grew up, and that was fast." Kakavasha had explained one night. "For some of us more than others."
Either way, he couldn't be more proud of his child. Unfortunately, Chyre seems adamant on being left alone for the time being, so Ratio will have to settle for taking pictures for his spouse later. Instead, Ratio takes to keeping Cora entertained.
He leans back on the couch and puts Cora on his legs. She grabs at his shirt and tugs with a whine. Ratio is careful as leans leans for the coffee table and grabs her car keys. "Looking for these?" He jangles them and she squeals in joy. She reaches for them and Ratio smiles. "That is red," He informs her. "And it has circles on it."
She takes great interest in the red circles, papping at them with chubby hands and giggling when the plastic crinkles. "It does sound nice, doesn't it?" He crinkles the key again, and Cora claps her hands. He continues informing her that there are more keys, namely green and blue and yellow ones.
Eventually, as with all things, it comes to an end when Cora makes a face that Ratio immediately recognizes. "Come on, then." He sighs. "Let's get you changed, filia mea."
--__--
After changing his daughter, he prepares her for a day outside. She's put in jeans and a flowy dress, along with sneakers. Chyre protests to his own clothing of cargo pants and a tee with sneakers, but eventually both children are settled into their seats in the stroller and Veritas is preparing their snacks for the outing.
Today, he decides, he's going to continue to wean the children off milk. They tried once, a few days before Aventurine left for his current trip, but neither child seemed interested in pumpkin puree.
Today, he's brought an assortment of purees safe for children, as well as a thermos of warm milk and two clean bottles. He wants them to be outside for a few hours at least, so he's made sure to lather the infants in sunscreen and bring a large umbrella. They'll only be going out to the front lawn, but the less he moves to get things from inside the house, the better he'll feel.
Everything and everyone is brought out and set up, including a blanket for all three to sit on, and then the catcakes are allowed free roam of the house.
Chyre takes to playing with his toys, enjoying biting and chewing on his stuffed cat the most. Cora has fully attached herself to her father, refusing to be put down for even a moment. Her father certainly doesn't mind, bouncing her on his hip and occasionally holding her into the air.
This lasts, to Ratio's surprise, for almost a whole hour. It's long enough for his ordered food to come and for him to eat it in peace. Chyre waffles between pawing at his stuffed cat and babbling to anything who passes by, including a few leaves that float by his face. He's very nearly ready to go in when he hears a smooth voice coming to his left.
"My, having a picnic today, doctor?" Jade smiles as he looks up at her. "Do you mind if I join for a moment?"
She takes a seat without waiting for a response, and Chyre immediately begins crawling his way to her. Jade takes a blanket over her shoulder before picking up Chyre. Unfortunately, Ratio can't warn her in time, and the infant immediately shrieks.
Jade lets him back down, and he blinks up at her as if nothing happened. He pats the ground and babbles, and Jade takes the last few moments with grace. "I see. I, too, despised being touched without good reason." She chuckles. Ratio huffs, and the gentle woman speaks to him without turning her attention from her godchild. "You look well, dear doctor."
Ratio nods. "As do you, Lady Jade. I have to inform you that I'm off the clock for the next-" he checks his phone, "-43 hours, so you'll have to go through the appropriate channels if you need anything." Cora claps as he speaks, and he kisses her head with a smile.
"I can't check on my godchildren?" She snipes back.
"Of course you can." He admits. "I'm just ensuring my personal and professional lives stay separated. On that note, I'm not the only one who needs lunch." He tugs over the basket of purees, and Jade nods.
She picks out a small jar of pea puree and Ratio picks out a jar of banana. They each take a spoon, and then Ratio offers his daughter to the woman. "She's not picky, she'll be held by anyone. Let me handle him." He offers, but Jade shakes her head.
Instead, she taps her cane twice. Ratio watches cautiously as two holographic snakes slide from the tip and wrap their way around the child's arms. At first, Chyre protests the snakes, whimpering as they glitter around him. Jade touches his hand with two fingers, and when she lets go, the infant sniffles but offers no more resistance.
"Don't worry, doctor." She assures. I've just made him understand the snakes aren't touching him. And while he's distracted with immaterial glitter," she pauses to open the pea puree and hold a scoop to Chyre's mouth. "I can do this."
At first, Chyre detests the slop that made contact with his lips.
Then he licks his lips, and he's silent.
Then he looks at Jade and stomps his hands in front of him, and she chuckles. "All you needed was some pretty shinies to interest you in true cuisine."
Ratio looks down at his daughter. She blinks up at him, and he opens the jar and brings a scoop to her mouth. As before, Cora throws a fit as the puree hits her mouth. Ratio sighs as he scoops a pinky into the puree and puts it on his lips, then he licks it off. It tastes horrendous, but the action interests Cora enough to mimic it, and she takes a few minutes as she processes the taste.
Eventually, she finds that banana puree is not her thing, and her face scrunches up adorably as she whines. "That's alright." Ratio assures her. "You tried. Let's try another." This time he opens the apple puree, and she reacts much more in favor of that flavor.
Both children finish their food in record time, and as Jade picks up Chyre to burp, and he hiccups once, then burps on his own.
Both adults look at him, then at Cora. Cora just blinks back at her father, and Ratio chuckles. "At their own pace, I suppose." He puts his daughter on his shoulder and pats her back. She burps quickly, this time without spit up, and Ratio moves her back to his lap.
Jade brings a hand over to pat her goddaughter on the head, then resumes paying attention to Chyre, who has taken to bapping his hands on the now-empty baby food jar and giggling as glittery snakes slither over his hands. It's calming for Ratio, seeing as now he only needs to worry about one troublemaker, but it's good to see and chat with Jade about trivial things, like workloads and baby care.
Another calm hour goes by with Jade at his side, but eventually she checks her watch with a sigh. "As enjoyable as this has been, I'm afraid I have an appointment to keep. I trust you'll be alright for a while." She stands, giving the infant in front of her a pat on the head.
The doctor nods, lips curling up gently. "Of course. I appreciate you stopping by. It was enjoyable to see you outside of professional obligations, and I'm sure these two felt the same." He gently waves goodbye with Cora's arm, and Jade chuckles as she replaces her hat. "Goodbye to you too, child." Then, she leaves.
It isn't until Ratio packs everything to bring in the house that he realizes it's naptime.
--__--
Once the children are changed and put down for a nap, Veritas takes some much-needed todying time. He takes the hour to sweep and mop the floors, as well as brush the catcakes, which all three appreciate. He gives them extra snacks for their patience the last few days, just as a treat. "Just for another day." He pats Spade's shell, and all three mewl pathetically at him.
"Then your papa will be home, and-"
"Then you won't have to be stuck in the bedroom all day."
Ratio whips around, and all three catcakes rush to their father in excitement. "Vasha!" He blinks. "You're home early. The kids are sleeping, so pardon my whispering, but..." He stands and envelopes his husband in a hug. "Why the hell are you home?"
Aventurine giggles as he gives his husband a kiss. "I wasn't gonna leave you alone with the kids for two whole days, Ver." "But you had time to yourself." Veritas frowns.
Aventurine smiles. "I used that time to get a massage and get some personal shopping done." He leans into Ratio's ear. "I also got you some things, but I'll wait until we have some energy to show those off."
Ratio blinks. "Oh?" His exhausted state registers the teasing purr for what it is too late, and by the time it does, Aventurine is already setting his things down in the bedroom. "We have-" he checks the time, "twenty minutes until the kids are up. We can make do." The older man comes up behind his husband.
The blonde turns around to give his husband a kiss. "Or you can spend twenty minutes talking to me about my trip, and then you can get some rest yourself." He smoothes the scholar's hair back. "You look like you've gotten less sleep than one of your students during exam week." Ratio rolls his eyes and opens his mouth to speak.
He's interrupted by a loud wailing from two rooms over, and Aventurine gives him another kiss before he makes his way out.
Ratio looks every bit like the exhausted puppy he is as he follows.
When the gambler opens the door to the nursery, both children are wailing, and Chyre is standing as he shrieks. Aventurine goes to pick him up, then winces. "Ah. I see we'll need a new diaper, won't we?" He takes off his jacket and sets it on the wooden rocking chair in the corner, then he picks up his son and takes him to the changing table.
Ratio interrupts him. "They need a bath." He picks up Cora, who grabs onto her father's shirt with chubby hands. "I can take care of them for a bit more while you get unpacked." He leans down and takes Chyre from his husband, and Aventurine frowns, but steps back. "Alright."
He gives Ratio a kiss on the cheek, then he leaves the children to unpack. Ratio looks down at his still-weeping children with a heavy sigh. "Let's get you two cleaned up."
Today, both Cora and Chyre are inconsolable. Maybe it's because their Daddy is gone, and perhaps it's because dinner hasn't been served yet. Either way, both children wail through their baths, through being clothed, and all the way until Ratio gets them in their high chairs for dinner. Chyre finally calms down when he's given a stack of rubber blocks to stack and chew on, but it isn't until Aventurine comes out of the bedroom, freshly showered and cozy, that Cora begins to wail so hard she stops breathing again.
Aventurine beats his husband to the punch, spraying her with a very fine mist of water across her face. "That's enough of that, I think." He chides softly as he picks her up. She wails and kicks and screams, but Aventurine is soft as he rocks her. He hums a song Ratio recognizes as an Avgin lullaby.
The jars of baby food are put in the microwave for a few seconds, and by the time it's finished, the angry screeching gasps have calmed into sniffling tears. "There we are." The blonde chuckles. "All better now that it's all out? That was a big one, kiddo." He kisses her head, and she whimpers as she buries her face in his shoulder. Aventurine reaches out, and without a word Ratio hands him the warmed jar.
Both parents take a child and a jar of food each and they head to the living room. Ratio sits in the playpen and lets Chyre sit on the floor as he eats, while Aventurine coaxes Cora to eat, poking her as she giggles and becomes more lively.
Soon, both jars are put out of reach on the coffee table and the entire family is corralled into the play pen. Cora is out in her bouncer as she pats at the mobile over her head, and Chyre is on his tummy, giggling as his Daddy does coin tricks and makes dice reappear from thin air.
Aventurine looks across from himself, smiling softly when he hears a soft snore coming from the purple-and-silver-haired man. In a bit, he'll have to wake him up, because sleeping like that will give the scholar a sore neck for days.
For now though, he can take a nap. He's more than earned it.