“Wow!” Garin said, launching himself onto the bed.
“Can we jump, Daddy?” Zayne asked, crawling after his brother.
“No! You know the rules,” Teal said firmly. “But thanks for trying.”
Garin looked at Ronan. “Papa, did you and Daddy Jax really do all of this?”
“Uh-huh. And we’ll do more downstairs, eventually.” Because of the way the duplex was configured, only the primary bedrooms and hall bathrooms shared a wall upstairs, but the next step in their plan would be to open up the living rooms and kitchens downstairs into shared spaces.
“I want to learn how to use all the tools and build stuff,” Garin said.
“Me too,” added Zayne.
“Me and Papa will show you,” Jax said. “Just like Daddy Sorcha will show you how to make furniture and Daddy Niall will teach you how to make the mac ‘n cheese you love so much. That’s what fathers do. Teach their sons.”
“Yes, my little gents. I will teach you to cook, and how to clean the bathroom properly,” Niall added with a waggle of his eyebrows.
Ever the analytical one, Kino sat down sedately on the bed and eyed the bassinets. “Daddy Sorcha, why are there two baby beds in the corner? Are you gonna have twins like me and Garin?”
The men paused in their movements at Kino’s innocent question, looking to Teal for direction.
Teal sat down on the bed, pulling Zayne into his lap and gesturing for the twins to sit on either side of him. He nodded at the others. Ronan sat down in one of the oversized chairs with Sorcha, while Jax and Niall leaned against the dresser.
“My beautiful boys, we wanted to wait to tell you this because there’s been a lot going on.” Teal ran his fingers through Zayne’s wispy hair, loving his tiny omega son and feeling their bond as he continued, “Daddy Sorcha’s not the only one who’s going to be having a new baby. I’m going to have one too.”
“Another baby brudder?” Zayne asked, before sticking his fingers in his mouth.
“That’s right, sweet pea.” This time it was Ronan who replied. “Daddy will have a baby about a month after Daddy Sorcha.”
“Oh,” Kino said neutrally.
His flat tone caught Teal off-guard. “Are you okay with that, Kino? Do you have questions?”
“Um, no. Not really,” Kino said, peering up at him.
“Are you sure?” Teal pressed. “You don’t sound too excited.”
“I’m excited,” Kino said sincerely. “But I just thought more twins would have been nice. I’ve never heard of any family with two sets of twins. It would prove even more that we’re special.”
“What do you mean?” Teal asked.
Kino exchanged a glance with Garin.
“There are some kids at school who are stupid and say our family is weird or strange,” Garin said. “But Kino and I know they’re just jealous because we’re special. We have five fathers and most people only have two.”
“Except Shan Allman told us his papa and daddy have a beta who lives in the house with them, and they are all married together. They told Shan not to say anything, but he figured it was okay to tell us,” Kino added.
The twins’ words were a lot to unpack. Teal started with the straightforward stuff. “I don’t like to hear you call anyone ‘stupid.’ Let’s please try to remember not to use unkind language.”
“Sorry Daddy,” Garin mumbled.
“However,” Teal said with a smile, “I’m glad to hear how you and Kino have responded. And you’re absolutely right. You are lucky to have five fathers who love you very much. Just like Zayne is, and just like the new babies will be.” He paused. “And I’m glad you can be a friend to Shan. It sounds like maybe he needs someone to talk to. But you need to respect his fathers’ wishes and not share that information, okay? Not everyone wants to tell everyone about their family.”
“We understand,” Kino replied. “But I’m glad we don’t have to hide ours. Even if some kids say mean things, most of them are still nice to us. And all the other daddies still know our daddy did important things.”
Teal looked at his partners. They were so fortunate to have such lovely boys.
“So you’re happy about the baby?” Teal asked again.
