There had never been a moment of peace since the twins came into their lives and as much as Eniola tried to pretend she didn't, she loved the chaotic duo.
It was a little too much to handle when they were more than just two and Christmas was the perfect excuse for all hell to break loose.
Alvaro and Clara's daughters, Hanifa and Aurora were not any different from their father. Energetic, troublesome and obsessed with taunting their poor old cat, Cricket. Rebecca's son, Andres, took every opportunity to fight Alejandro who had a bit too much pride to go down without punching back.
Casimiro on the other hand was having a fun time pulling Aurora's long blonde pigtails. He said she looked like Rapunzel. Nobody saw it.
"Mommy! Mommy!!" The frantic screaming made Eniola turn off the mixer and face the growing five year old running towards her.
Fortunately, Alejandro stopped himself before crashing into the counter.
"Yin, What'd I tell you about running in the house?" she cautioned and he just shrugged.
"I dunno.. Hani, Rory and Andy are running around. Nobody stops them."
Of fucking course.
Ignoring his mother's glowering face, he stretched on his tippy toes to see what was in the mixer. "What you doing? What you doing?!"
Eniola could not keep her frown for long as she picked him up so he could see better.
"Ohhhh butter! Cake?" he asked and when she nodded he clapped. "Daddy's cake?"
"You're so smart!" Eniola said, setting him back on his fit and smoothening down his rumpled clothes. "But I can't do much with you guys coming in here every two minutes."
Alejandro tilted his head. "Why isn't uncle helping you? He likes cakes too."
She had begged Alvaro to help her but the idiot happened to find himself on the other side of the country and would not be able to get back to Cadiz until evening. Her next available option, Clara was busy decorating the Christmas tree that Eniola had conveniently forgotten to do.
She had been more caught up with planning Tobias' birthday.
The celebrant was missing as well. Something about a missing shipment. Occasionally, his presence was needed in Valencia and it was never something he looked forward to doing.
"Uncle isn't here. He has a Christmas picnic with some kids in Malaga." Eniola explained as she ran the mixer again, scooping a bit to put on Alejandro's nose.
He giggled and took it off with his fingers.
"Where's Malaga?" he asked, curious. At his age, he wanted to know everything.
"It's another city, just like here. Do you know where we are?"
"Cadiz?" he quickly answered, grinning when she nodded. "Is Malaga near us? Can we go?"
Eniola tapped her chin. "Hm, should I put that in after Addis Ababa and New Delhi?"
Alejandro gave her another shrug and she just patted his head.
Anytime he learned that somewhere that wasn't Cadiz existed, he wanted to go there. Tobias had entertained him twice when he swore he saw Nigeria in his dreams and when he wanted to go to Mendoza after hearing about it in a cartoon.
They had quickly learned that he could be very impulsive when he asked to go back home on their third day in Argentina.
"Where's daddy though? Finally went to get milk?" he suddenly asked and Eniola's eyes widened.
"Who taught you that?"
The boy's cheeky smile showed that he was never going to tell.
She got back to her baking. "No presents for you tomorrow."
Alejandro's face immediately fell.
"What? Why?!"
"Because you're being mouthy. Mouthy boys don't get presents."
He crossed his arms and pouted, refusing to back down. "Daddy will get me presents."
"I'll hide them."
"I'll look for them."
"I'll throw them away."
"Mommy!"
"Yin, didn't we talk about this?" he paused at the new voice, looking behind him to find his father who sent him a look of disapproval.
He bit down his bottom lip and frowned, his mouth quivering as he ran into Tobias who caught him.
"Daddy, mommy said she'll throw away my presents!" he exclaimed, the tears easily streaming down his face as Tobias frowned.
It was obvious he didn't believe the waterworks but still narrowed his eyes at Eniola.
"Oh, why?" he asked, hugging Alejandro to calm him down.
"I- I don't know! She just said she won't give me presents!"
Eniola rolled her eyes as Tobias stood up with Alejandro clinging to him. The boy didn't know he was getting very heavy.
He let him down and wiped his face with his fingers.
"It's okay. I'll make sure you get your presents. But don't yell at mommy next time. Is that clear?" Tobias instructed, his voice firm for a moment.
Alejandro nodded.
His father smiled at him and tapped his cheek. "Now say sorry and go show Krrish your trains. His dad just brought him."
Alejandro's mood immediately lightened at the mention of Hanifa's cousin. The boy was about four years older than he was but they were still very good friends. Especially when you considered that Krrish was almost mute. He had a horrible stutter and had learned signing since he was six. The only people Alejandro showed a bit of patience were the ones that were very quiet.
And he said Krrish looked like a girl. So that explained things.
"I'm sorry, mommy," he said, under his breath. "Please don't hide my presents."
Eniola could not keep the serious face as she tightly hugged him before letting him run off. "I love you too much for that."
"I love you too."
And he was gone.
She turned to see Tobias looking at the mess on the counter.
He smiled at her, leaving her breathless. "What are you up to?"
She sighed and pointed at the bag of flour.
"I wanted to surprise you with a cake... The kids had me preoccupied," she said and he just laughed, pressing a kiss against the side of her head.
"Thank you so much, my love. Even though you didn't have to," he said. "And our living room is a mess. It's a surprise they even let you get this far."
Every year since they learned to walk, it had been like this. Alvaro and Clara always had their kids over as well since Varo, in his words, had said his house was a 'no kid zone' especially when they were that many.
Even Jacinto brought his boys, Jin and Krrish over when he had the chance. After the festive periods, Tobias was an unpaid babysitter since everyone had work to do and it was why the kids liked him the most.
They could set the house on fire for all he cared but stay out of the library. Eniola still did not know whether or not it was a good thing.
"How was Valencia? Got any coke for me?" Eniola joked as she watched him measure the floor.
He sent her a flat look.
"You'd need to kill me before I let you do cocaine, my love." His answer was almost the same.
He didn't mind her smoking cigarettes or even weed when he was absent but hard drugs were out of the question. Especially the one he dealt with. It was an unwritten rule to not consume the merchandise.
She stretched to kiss him, still laughing. "You know I'm joking, baby."
He scoffed but kissed back and gave her a quick squeeze before resealing the bag and taking it to the pantry.
How he managed to remain clean was something she never understood.
"You know, I've always wondered something," Eniola said as soon as he returned with eggs.
"Hm?" He asked, watching his hands.
"How come you don't drink or smoke? Like sure you could do a glass or two but you've got a bottle of Grand Cru sitting in our fridge," she said. "That shit cost me six thousand, you know?"
He chuckled before leaning against the counter.
"I did tell you to get me a cheaper brand."
"Well, you deserve expensive shit," Eniola retorted, smug to see his cheek turn a light shade of pink.
"Likewise..." he sighed. "Olegario says it stems from a place that wants control. If I drink too much or do anything too much, I lose my head and you know how I lived before you came into my life. I could not afford to not be in line with my thoughts."
She understood what he said. Perfectly. She didn't ignore his waiting arms as she leaned into his embrace.
"But that part of your life is over. You can do what you want now."
Tobias nodded. "I can. And that's why I drink with you. I don't mind being defenseless and vulnerable by your side. I know you're there."
Her insides got warm again. The fucker has a way with his words.
She cleared her throat.
"Then let's do coke sometime."
Tobias laughed.
"I find it unnecessary, Fuego-"
"Y'all are doing coke?!" Alvaro's voice almost made him jump as the lawyer came in with Rory in his arms.
She was asleep as her hands limply hung around his neck. She didn't even move because of his loud voice, already used to it.
"For God's sake, Varo. When did you get back?" Tobias asked, not bothering to pull away from Eniola while the lawyer inspected the kitchen.
"Yeah, you still need to mix that butter for a bit. The sugar hasn't melted," he said. "And I got back minutes ago. Had to help Tigress with the decorations at the top of the tree. You know the kids in Malaga made me play basketball? I was actually good at that shit."
Alvaro was taking politics pretty seriously and was trying his hardest to build connections and get grassroot support. He already had the resources to go for president already but decided to let Perez do a second term. He thought there was still a lot to do.
Aurora stirred and he finally lowered his tone.
"What's this about doing cocaine? I'm in though. But I'm going to need to check in with Clara."