Closer 2

155.

Brett woke up to the smell of food cooking and the sound of at least one crying baby. It was sometimes difficult to hear if it was Aiden or Benjamin who was crying, because their voices sounded so similar.

As they grew, the size difference between them got smaller too, making them more an more difficult to distinguish too. They had gotten into the habit of putting Benjamin in reds and Aiden in blues, just so they didn't accidentally swap them. Colour coding their kids felt weird, though, but it was getting more an more necessary as they practically looked identical otherwise.

Brett got himself out of bed and pulled some sweatpants on. It was nice that Eddy had gotten up early to make breakfast for them, and the smell was even better in the hallway between their bedroom and the kids' bedrooms. He also noticed that Elise's door was open, which he knew meant that Elise was awake.

"It's okay, baba's coming for both of you," Brett said as he went to pick up Aiden first. He knew Benjamin could hear him and would calm a little from that.

"Hey babyboy. You're looking cute today," he smiled down at his youngest son, picking him up from his crib to soothe him. "It's okay, no need to cry. I know I was slow to get you."

Aiden calmed down once he was in baba's arms, looking up at him with big, brown eyes instead. Brett kissed his forehead.
"Wanna see if Bee is awake, hm?" he asked him, rocking him a bit as he shuffled over towards Benjamin's room. "I'm sure he is, I heard him before."

Brett headed into the bedroom, finding a happy, gurgling Benjmin.
"Good morning, happy boy," he said cheerily, stroking his cheek a bit before juggling the boys to get both up in his arms. They were slowly getting better at holding their own heads, which made everything easier. "Seems like you two slept well, huh? Feeling ready for some yummy yummy breakfast, aren't you?"

He was feeling quite cheery as he entered the living room. He went over to Eddy, who had his back towards him as he came into the kitchen, and tiptoed to kiss his cheek.

"Good morning love. Could you make some bottles for me please?" Brett asked softly, rocking the boys so they'd remain calm.

"Uh, yeah," Eddy mumbled, quickly snapping Brett out of his cheery, perfect morning. Brett furrowed his brows.

"What's wrong, baby?" Brett asked, trying to step around him to see his face. Eddy turned away.

"It's nothing, I'm just being stupid. Just go sit down, I'll sort the bottles out," Eddy said quietly, licking his lips. "Elise is in the living room too, by the way."

"Did something happen?"

Eddy finally looked at him with his red, puffy eyes. Brett's expression softened.

"Babe, please talk to me. What happened?"

"It's... I guess I'm just realizing how much I've fucked up," Eddy mumbled quietly. "I tried to see if Elise wanted to help me out with the cooking, and well... She didn't. It's really nothing, I'm just..."

"Do you want me to put the boys down for a moment and hug you properly?" Brett interrupted him to stop him from digging himself deeper down into his hole. Eddy opened his mouth again, clearly to protest, but Brett was quicker. "Actually, that's what's gonna happen. I'll be back in a second."

Brett headed out to the living room, carefully putting the twins down on the play mat. He made sure neither of them were crying, and looked over at Elise quickly. She was sitting in the window, watching the outside world, not looking too be in a murderous mood towards her brothers. Besides, they were right there. She couldn't do anything too bad.

"Good morning, princess. Watching anything interesting?" Brett asked her softly, making him look towards him. It only lasted for a moment though before her eyes shifted back to right under the bushes at the edge of the grass patch.

"Kitty," she informed him softly. "Meow."

"What's kitty doing then?" Brett asked her, going over to squat down next to her. He'd go hug Eddy in a moment, but he wanted her to feel seen too.

"Sleeping," Elise informed him, shifting her sitting position a bit.

"Sounds good. Let me know if it does something different, okay?" Brett said, stroking her back a bit before standing back up and heading back to the kitchen.

Eddy stood as if frozen still, staring at the floor in front of him. He didn't even look up at Brett when he came back.

"Come here love," Brett said softly, pulling his boyfriend into a tight hug. He wished he was taller so he could give him the same safe feeling he got from Eddy, but he had to work with the height he had. "What's going on?"