25 days of cadnis + twins

day 9: playing christmas music

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"Hey, guys!" Cady greets happily when she sees Damian, Aaron, Juliana, and the Plastics sitting just a few rows back from the stage. "I'm glad you made it. The girls have no idea you came, they'll be so happy to see you."

"Of course! It's their first dance recital, how could we miss it?" Damian asks, aghast at the mere suggestion of missing such a momentous occasion in his nieces' lives. Cady chuckles and takes the open seat next to him, with Janis on her other side.

Janis checks her phone to check the time. The twins are up first, so she'll be pressed for time if she goes through with her plan. But if she runs...

"Be right back."

"Janis, what?" Cady calls. "They're up first, you're gonna-" Janis is already out of earshot, barreling back towards the entrance. "Miss them."

"She'll make it back," Damian comforts.

"But what is she doing?"

"Lord only knows, Caddy, lord only knows."

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Cady checks the time on her phone roughly every ten seconds. Every minute that passes makes her more and more anxious. Janis wouldn't miss their babies' first dance recital. But she might if this keeps up.

The house lights go down and Cady starts chewing her fingernails. Where is her wife?

Janis barrels back in and plops into her seat just before the twins' class' entry music begins. She has two matching bouquets of red roses on her lap as she pants to catch her breath.

"That was too close, Janis," Cady whispers. "You couldn't have waited 'til after?"

"All the-the good ones would've- been gone by then," Janis puffs quietly. "I made it, shh."

Cady rolls her eyes, but takes her wife's hand as their daughters are led onto the stage and go to find their places. Layla is first in line and winds up almost front and center. She waves eagerly when she spies her family, and everyone waves back.

"Oh no," Cady chuckles quietly when Leo is gently guided by the teacher to her correct positioning next to her twin. "There you go. Aww, my little ballerinas!"

The teachers did a good job of keeping the routine a surprise. They got to watch rehearsals through the windows of the studio sometimes, but they've never heard the song. Janis smiles widely as The Polar Express starts playing.

The general vibe of the performance is 'they're a little confused, but they've got the spirit.' It's quite obvious that they're all desperately following along with their instructor rather than actually remembering the moves they're supposed to be doing, and a few of them do a couple of kicks with the wrong legs or spin in the wrong direction.

Eventually the dancers all line up and start moving their arms like a train, walking in a circle around the stage before going back to their places and continuing. There's a sizable gap in the middle where one of the dancers isn't quite up to tempo, but it's so precious that nobody really minds.

Leo, surprisingly, is the twin that shines on stage. She has a precious grin on her face as she copies her teacher, and they can just barely hear some faint giggles as she does her special jumps.

"Yay Lala!" Damian calls.

"That's Leo," Cady whispers.

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah," Cady says in surprise.

"Yay Lolo!"

"Layla looks terrified," Janis says sadly. Layla's almost totally frozen, no hint of a smile like her sister as she weakly copies the dance moves. The relief on her face is easily visible when they get in line once more and the song ends. They take their bows a few times, delighting in the applause of the audience. Leo gives a few extra and misses the cue to turn into the train again with the rest of her class to leave the stage. Eventually, the teacher just picks her up and carries her off into the wings.

"Well that was certainly something," Regina chuckles. "How cute."

Unfortunately, they have to wait through all of the other classes before they're excused to go find their daughters. So everyone settles into their seats and prepares for a long wait.

————-

"My beautiful girls!" Cady cheers as they come barreling towards her. She catches Leo and scoops her up, while Janis grabs Layla. "You did such a good job! We're so proud of you, did you have fun?!"

"Yeah!" they both cheer at the same time. Janis sets Layla down and crouches down to her height. Layla gasps when she sees the flowers and gets her very own rose bouquet. Cady sets Leo down, who has a very similar reaction to hers.

"Look who came to see you," Janis hums, pointing over to the small crowd of aunties and uncles waiting for them. The twins both take off like a shot, calling various names as they go. Cady goes to pick up their coats and boots and thank their teacher while Janis follows after them.

"Hey, tiny dancers!" Damian greets, catching Leo as she barrels into him. Layla makes a beeline for Juliana and is also quickly picked up. "Cool flowers, do you have a secret admirer?"

"Mommy gibbed them to me!" Leo explains. Janis kisses her cheek carefully and chuckles.

"They're from me and Mama," she explains. "Should we go get some lunch?"

"With everybody?" Layla asks, pouting at the idea of all her favorite people leaving so soon.

"Of course with us!" Julie replies. "We have to celebrate your beautiful dancing!"

"Oh. Yeah!" Layla cheers. Cady snatches her from her auntie and kisses her cheeks. Janis goes to Leo and does the same.

"We'll meet you guys at that sandwich place nearby?" Janis asks, walking backwards with her daughter. Everyone nods and gives her a thumbs up. "Tits. Later!"

Cady crouches down to zip some little coats back on, and switches ballet slippers for boots once more. Each girl gets a kiss before she stands back up. "I love both of you so much."

"I love you, Mama," they both say at the same time, giving her a tight hug. Cady squeezes them back before she lets them run to the car.

"They're getting so big," she sighs. Janis takes and squeezes her hand.

"They're always our babies."

And I kind of like holiday music now.

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hope you enjoyed!!

see ya tomorrow!!