'TIS THE DAMN SEASON

3.

Slightly irritated by the mere fact he hadn't refound the engagement rings he had picked out weeks before and left until now to purchase, James returns home with an empty pocket but a spring falls into his step as he enters the kitchen to sew Regulus and the boys, poor little Bellamy covered in some kind of sticky flour.

"Daddy!" Max shrieks. "Look! We've made Christmas cookies!" He declares around a mouthful of said Christmas cookies. He excitedly holds a poorly decorated Christmas tree shaped cookie up for his father to view.

"My, my!" James grins. "Did you make those all by yourself, Maxy?"

Max shakes his head. "Theo and mummy and Bell and me did it all, dad," He gleams.

James ruffles his middle son's hair. "Aren't you all brilliant, eh? My brilliant family," He comments. "My three handsome sons, my gorgeous boyfriend," He smirks to Regulus, who rolls his eyes in return. "And," James reaches to gently stroke Regulus' belly. "My lovely little daughter,"

"Can baby sister get here for Christmas?" Theo asks innocently. "Will Santa Claus bring her? Like a present?"

Regulus smiles tenderly, swallowing a small piece of his own cookie. He shakes his head before, "Baby sister is going to arrive in January, hon, so she won't be here for Christmas, m'afraid," He tells his eldest. Theo and Max only appear to groan disappointedly at the news.

James gently cups the curve of Regulus' belly with both of his large hands. "She'll be here before you even know it, boys," He reminds. "And mummy and I will be very busy, y'know, but we'll always have time for our three little lads, won't we, Reg?"

Regulus grins. He nods, firmly. "Even if you guys don't wear diapers, you'll always be our baby boys," He promises. He places a soft kiss to Bellamy's head, so young and small and so unaware of the conversation in the room. "Now, little lad, why don't we go get you into the bath, mmh? You're covered in flour, you look like a snowman!"

Bellamy gurgles a giggle at this, his little face lighting up. "You love bathrtime, don't you, sweetheart?" Regulus chuckles as he softly kisses Bellamy's cheek. He gently picks up his youngest son, resting him over the curve of his bump. He turns to James. "Will you and the boys clean up the kitchen?" He asks. "I'm going to put Bell down for the night after his bath,"

James nods. "Course I will," He pecks Regulus tenderly on the forehead. "I'll get Theo and Max ready for bed," He diverts his attention back to the two little boys. "And maybe read them a bedtime story if this kitchen looks brand new again," He teases.

Regulus heads upstairs and runs Bellamy his bath. He hums as he does so. "We're going to get you all nice and squeaky clean, baby boy, alright?"

Regulus slowly undresses his son before tossing some lightly scented wash into the water. He tests the water before slowly lowering Bellamy into the water. Instinctively, Bellamy begins to splash, giggling as he does so, his eyes squinting with his smile.

Regulus gently brushes his cheek with his knuckles, smiling nostalgically, almost sadly. He sighs softly. "You're not going to be my little baby for much longer, are you, honey?" He whispers. "I can't believe you're all growing up so quickly,"

Regulus looks down at his belly. He gently rubs a hand along the side of his abdomen. "She's going to be our last baby, daddy and I have already decided that four is the perfect amount," He says. "I can't wait for you to meet your baby sister,"

Bellamy rambles a reply that is illegible to Regulus.

"You're going to be a big brother, Bell! Isn't that crazy, honey?" Regulus grins. "You're going to be just like Theo and Maxy," He smiles as Bellamy splashes his chubby little fist against the water.