The twins were quite the pair.
With one parent being one of the most controversially famous women in America and the other, an oddly wealthy Spaniard with a lot of business secrets, they had everything they could ever wish for. They even had a godfather who legally destroyed civilians and was now a strong candidate for the president of government in Spain.
They were lucky.
The twins, Alejandro and Casimiro looked exactly similar but were as different as they could be even at the ages of four.
Alejandro, fondly called Little Yin, a name given to him by Chun Wang, was exactly like his mother. Even with his babble of words, he was strong-willed and had recently chosen 'no' as his favorite word. His tiny feet had barely touched the ground before he started to run and then jump.
It was like a frustratingly unending game of the floor is lava when it came to him.
He preferred to hang onto railings and chair armrests than to walk on the floor. He parkoured his way through the furniture before his parents and caretaker caught him.
Casimiro (Little Mu) however was everyone's sweet little angel.
He smiled a lot, barely said anything, and could sit in a spot for minutes at a time which for a toddler was incredibly impressive. He was very sensitive as well and would cry when he was scolded (which rarely happened).
Like his brother, he was dark-skinned with curly brown hair and a unique feature —his eyes. Unlike Little Yin, he had differently colored eyes; his left eye was brown and his right was a mix of gray and green. The doctors had said it was heterochromia and that it was harmless.
They thought it was pretty cool and Little Yin liked his brother's eyes the most.
Little Mu was incredibly shy and that was the main reason he was currently crying in his mother's arms.
"Baby... what's wrong?" Eniola asked, rubbing his back reassuringly. His funny pirate costume was beginning to get rumpled. Tobias was going to throw a fit after being made to iron every one of the multiple pleats on the shirt.
"I don't wanna..." His small voice was muffled as he hid his face in her chest.
Eniola looked around with a small smile.
They were getting stares.
They always did.
"You don't wanna go up there, do you?" She asked softly, watching him nod. "It's scary, isn't it?"
He nodded again.
It was supposed to be his last day in kindergarten and they had a recital to do as a graduating act.
Alejandro was more than ready to tear down the stage after singing the theme of Jake and the Neverland Pirates for the past several days. Casimiro on the other hand took one look at the crowd and got hiccups due to his stage fright.
"Well, you don't have to," she reassured him, smiling as he stretched out his pinky finger.
"Promise?" She laughed at his cuteness but linked their fingers and kissed his knuckles.
"Promise."
He did not have to go on stage if he didn't want to. It wasn't in any way important.
Little Mu was satiated by now as he climbed onto the empty seat right next to her so he could watch his brother who was yet to perform.
She frowned for a brief second.
Where is he?
"Did he convince you to let him stay here?" The voice reversed her frown and she smiled to see Tobias right in front of her.
He was holding a small pair of shoes that undoubtedly belonged to Little Yin. Unsurprisingly, her eyes caught her older son jumping around the corner of the stage with just his red socks.
"Oh come on, babe. He's a kid." She did not need to look to know that Casimiro agreed with her.
Tobias rolled his eyes but grinned nonetheless. "And I'm the soft one. I got the chocolates."
Eniola rolled her eyes as Tobias broke the candy in half and then handed one to Casi. Another thing about the children was their inability to keep their mouths still.
They may have learned that from their parents.
"I thought you said they wouldn't have any until after." She teased and he pretended like he could not hear her, wiping Casi's face clean with a napkin before handing him another piece.
"Are you leaving early today?" He asked just as the lights grew dim and she shook her head.
Mateo had spared her the whole weekend and she did not need to grace the office with her presence until Tuesday.
Sometimes, she felt she dedicated a bit too much time to her career but Tobias thought the opposite. He wanted her to do things she could not do while he was away and to him, childbirth was not an excuse to throw away your ambitions.
He on the other hand had missed out on a lot while he was nose deep in the company. He now preferred to watch everyone be the best version of themselves while he cheered and lived a reserved life. The children and dates with Eniola were the only reasons he willingly left the house too.
"Nah, I'm free until Tuesday morning. Want to ask me out or something?" she teased, not missing the almost shy smile on his face as he glanced at her before looking at the stage.
They had been together for about five years and making him flustered had never been easier.
"Well, if you're up for it..." he started, his hand finding hers above Mu's head. "We haven't gone to Madrid in a while."
She bit her lip, knowing exactly what he meant. "Hm... I'll think about it."
"Reina..." Queen. His voice was low and almost pleading and she couldn't bear listening to it. "We haven't been alone in months."
He was right.
He had been very considerate with her managing her business and trying to reconnect with her mother. The latter had been quite the development. Reuniting with Victoria Aderonke had been the last thing Eniola wanted to do but she could not say it did not make life a little easier.
After months and months of convincing from Tobias, she had finally gotten around traveling to Nigeria to see her mother. For some reason, the woman was not allowed back into the States. Eniola did not care to ask and Victoria did not care enough to share. She had traveled to the foreign country with nothing but an old picture of the woman, a stupid childish optimism, and of course, a handful of guards because Tobias had extreme trust issues. It also did not help that the woman had once abandoned her daughter.
Eniola had realized she had three other siblings— twin sisters (which would explain the genes) and a teenage brother. It had been awkward, as expected but they had gotten around, morbidly curious about her life in America, her political enigma of a father, and of course, Tobias.
Her sisters— Feyi and Seyi were particularly interested in how they met and had asked on numerous occasions if he had single brothers. The disappointment when they heard that the closest person he had to a brother (Alvaro) was getting married and already had a daughter was unmatched. Surprisingly, Feyi announced her engagement to an Igbo man just a few weeks later. Eniola never understood her extended family's hesitance in accepting the man.
The wedding would happen a year later and made her spend a full month away from Tobias who looked like he was physically sick from their separation every time they Facetimed. Feyi and her husband relocated to Canada shortly after the wedding but they continued to keep in touch.
Eniola loved them all but still could not get over the slight resentment for her mother. It was understandable at least.
"Fuego?" Tobias called, noticing her mind was somewhere else.
She blinked in surprise. "Do you think Varo and Clara would mind watching over the twins?"
They both knew the answer.
The couple had Hanifa and an adrenaline junkie— as Varo would say— of a toddler to take care of. The lawyer would slam the door in their faces before they even got to ask for the favor. They already had a lot to handle.
Tobias smirked. "I'm sure they won't mind... If we just drop them by the gate and run off?"
Eniola laughed and he seemed fixated on her smile before a slight snore caught their attention.
Alejandro was giving the performance of his life (in the loudest offkey note) and outshining his peers and Casimiro was fast asleep with his piece of candy almost falling from his mouth.