Twinkling Legacy

Chapter 1

"Sana'y di magmaliw ang dati kong araw
Nang munti pang bata sa piling ni nanay
Nais kong maulit ang awit ni inang mahal
Awit ng pag-ibig habang ako'y nasa duyan"

Aurora's voice echoed in the Room at 2:45 AM as she sings the twins back to sleep. Her wife, the ever light sleeper Celeste, was awoken by the sweet voice of her wife. With mind half-asleep, she lets herself listen and watch her mag-iina while she's also being lured to sleep. But the peaceful night was ruined when one of the twins cried. The cry of the baby seemed to hit some nerves as she suddenly felt awake.

"Don't get up, Star. I got this." Aurora warned her when she saw her sit up from her comfortable lying position. She stayed still, watching Rori bring Selene into her arms and gently swaying while still singing the daughter a lullaby.

A sweet smile escaped her lips as their little diva seemed to be satisfied with the touch of her mommy Rori. Between the two of them, it was Selene, or Sese as they call her, who's a bit clingy and needy for attention. She likes being carried by either the two of them, she enjoys it when they play tickles with her, and is definitely a talker. She blabs and blabs despite not forming sensible words.

On the otherhand, her brother, Helios or Eli, is a more reserved and quiet one. He asks for attention too in a way that he likes it when Rori and Cece sings to him in sleep. He enjoys listening to his mothers talk, giggling at their silly voices despite not knowing what they are saying. And like Sese, he loves being carried around.

As the lovers would put it simply, Selene got Celeste's personality and Helios got Aurora's.

"Shine, you should sleep. Give that little drama queen to me." Celeste said, getting up from the bed and walking towards them. But Rori was stubborn as hell and wouldn't allow her to lull her to sleep.

A few months after Cece gave birth, Rori had been the one taking care of the twins. They would be breastfed during the day when Cece's awake, and would be bottle-fed at night. Cece tried to argue with her with this kind of set up but her wife always finds a reason to make her agree to it. "You've carried them for 9 months then pushed them out of you. This is the least I can do for you, Star. You deserve your rest." As she would say.

As much as she appreciates her wife doing the best she could ever do for their twins and her, she couldn't stand seeing Rori exhausted every morning before clocking in to work. Sure, she's working from home, but she sure needs energy for that too. One week before the twins turned one month, she proposed a set up for them. Cece watches them during the day and Rori could take over during the night.

Aurora agreed to this as she thought it's still a win-win. But as days go by, she noticed that her wife would often wake up with her when the babies cries or need to be fed. She'd sit with her and talk with her and help her feed the other baby. Cece would tell her it's because she's a light sleeper, but Rori sure knows that she's doing it not just because she's a light sleeper but also because she does not want Rori to be burdened with so much work.

"Star, can you even think of a day na nasunod yung schedules natin? Like, a night when you did not get up to help me feed them or put them to sleep?" She asked, trying to remind Cece of the system that they both agreed to work on.

The woman just gave her a playful smile, and she knows what that means. "Bakit ikaw? You still do things around the house kahit na dapat focus ka sa work kapag araw." She complained back.

It was true. Cece once suggested hiring someone to cook for them so Rori could have the little time she had to rest in between her work as the boss and work as a mother. But the woman insisted on making their meals every single day. She has not missed one and the tables are always full. Cece could not be anymore grateful to have a wife who does not only take care of their child but her as well.

"I want to do that for us, Star. Ayokong mawala yung mga simpleng bagay na ginagawa ko para sayo noon pa man dahil nadagdagan yung gawain natin. That's when most couples lose their sparks. I don't want our shine to fade." She reasoned. Cece couldn't help but blush, she could feel her cheeks turning red. "Still have it, huh?" Rori teased.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you, Shine. Gosh, if I can just offer my body to you, I would. Kaso hindi pa pwede." Cece rebutted. Rori could only thank the heavens that both the twins could not yet understand what their mommies are talking about. A chuckle escaped her lips as she saw the hint of lust and disappointment on Cece's face.

As if the little man could sense what was happening between his parents, he wailed. And his cry woke up the already dozing off Sese. The next thing they knew, they were in panic as two babies cried in front of them. Cece got Eli out of the crib and hushed him down.

"Eli, way to tell mommy Cece to stop." Rori said, looking at the baby that Cece is holding. A laughed escaped her lips as she saw the pout on Cece's face while staring at their son. "He really said 'no mommy, that's gross.'" Rori jokes.

"You know what, Eli, mommy Rori was mine first." She told the young man who's already asleep. Yet she said it sweetly and softly with a smile on her face. "But I guess I can share her with the two of you. basta wag niyo lang akong pagbawalan lumapit sa kaniya one day, ha?" She told them, looking over Sese as well.

"They'll like you when they're older. You'd be the cool mom." Rori said, smiling at her widely. She felt something in her heart, a flutter, hearing what she said. But she refused to agree so. She think the twins will like their mommy Rori better, because who wouldn't love the Aurora Ignacio?

"I'd take the cool mom, because I know you'll be the great mom, Shine." She answered back.

"Stop. We will both do our best to give them two great moms in the world." Rori slowly puts Sese down while she said that. Cece gave her a hopeful smile before doing the same to Eli.

Once they're sure that the twins are fast asleep, they jumped into their bed and snuggled. "Do you miss making love?" Cece asked out of nowhere in the middle of silence. Rori couldn't help but burst out laughing at that question..

"Tigang!" She teased, making Cece pout and have a sulky face. "You just delivered two babies. We can always wait until we can...make love again." She told her, trying to put back the smile on her face.

"Ang tagal naman." She complained. Rori just gave her hand a squeeze, trying to tell her to be patient. She's already off to the dreamland when Cece started talking about their plans for the twin's one month celebration. She tried her best to stay in the zone but her drowsiness got the best of her.

Cece heard Rori's soft snores after a few minutes. She stopped talking and stared at her wife, admiring the details of her face. Despite not having the time to check on themselves and put on creams and such, Rori's still glowing as ever. Her hand traced the features of her face like she's memorizing it though she already had.

"I wish our children carry that face of yours, Shine."  She whispered before putting a kiss on her forehead and snuggling her closer to her. "I love you." She said before closing her eyes and wandering into dreamland.