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Darrian had been sorting laundry for the twins' daycare when it happened.
It wasn't like he planned to discover that his husband had been calling their children the wrong names for the past three years. Honestly, he thought David was better at noticing details. This was the same man who once spotted a spider on the ceiling from across the room.
But apparently, the subtle detail of "which twin is which" had completely flown under his radar.
"Babe, can you bring me Ezra's sweater?" Darrian called from the couch, folding the third little pile of toddler-sized chaos.
David came strolling in, hair still damp from his shower, phone in one hand, holding a tiny blue sweater in the other. He dropped it in Darrian's lap. "Here you go. "
Darrian raised an eyebrow. "...That's Elijah's."
David blinked, confused. "No it's not."
"Yes, it is," Darrian said, matter-of-fact, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Ezra's is the one with the dinosaurs."
"No—" David laughed, grabbing the sweater back like Darrian had just suggested the sky was green. "This is Ezra's. I've been dressing him in it since he was a baby."
That made Darrian pause. "...Wait. You've been dressing Ezra in this?"
"Yeah," David said, still smiling, still thinking he was right.
Darrian's mouth dropped open slowly. "David... that's Elijah's."
The way David's face fell was like watching a man realize his entire life was a lie. "No. No, babe, that's—Ezra's the one with the little freckle on his cheek."
Darrian stared at him for a long second. "Elijah has the freckle. Ezra has the mole on his collarbone."
"...Mole?" David said, voice already cracking.
Darrian stood, crossed the room, and called into the hallway, "Ezra! Come here, sweetheart!"
Tiny footsteps thundered across the hardwood, and one of their three-year-olds appeared, cheeks flushed, holding a half-eaten cracker. Darrian scooped him up, pulling the neckline of his shirt down just enough to reveal the small mole on his collarbone. "See? Ezra."
David just stood there, staring. "...You're telling me... I've been calling him Elijah... for three years?"
Before Darrian could answer, a voice came from the kitchen doorway. "Oh my God, finally."
Both men turned to see their fifteen-year-old daughter, Malia, leaning against the frame with a bowl of cereal. She looked utterly unimpressed.
"What do you mean finally?" David asked, still half in shock.
Malia rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle she didn't pass out. "Dad, I've been telling you since forever that you've got them mixed up. You never believed me. You were like, 'Pfft, I'm their father, I know my own kids.'" She deepened her voice in an exaggerated impression of him.
Darrian snorted into his hand. "Oh my God."
David whipped around to glare at her. "Why didn't you insist?"
"I did!" Malia said, offended. "Multiple times. But every time I said 'That's not Ezra, that's Elijah,' you got all defensive and told me to stop confusing you. So I stopped trying." She took a dramatic spoonful of cereal. "Guess who was right."
Darrian was now openly laughing. "Babe, your teenager's been keeping this secret like some sitcom side character waiting for the plot to catch up."
David dropped onto the couch like his life had just been ruined. "I'm a terrible father."
Ezra, still in Darrian's arms, tilted his head. "Daddy wrong?"
"Apparently for three years," Malia said, not helping.
Darrian sat beside David, kissing his cheek. "You're not a terrible father. Just an adorable idiot."
David groaned into his hands. "Do you know how many bedtime stories I've been reading to the wrong kid?"
"Pretty sure the story still counts," Darrian said, smirking.
From the hallway, the actual Elijah yelled, "Does that mean I get extra stories now?"
David let his head fall back on the couch. "They're gonna hold this over my head forever."
"Yup," Malia said cheerfully, already pulling out her phone. "And I'm telling Grandma."
Darrian laughed harder, curling into David's side. "Guess we're re-labeling every photo in the house, huh?"
David sighed. "Fine. But in my defense... they are identical."
Malia gave him a look. "Identical to everyone but me."
Darrian smirked. "And their dad, apparently.
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finally updating !!!
dropping maybe 4 chapters tonight will see, what i have in drafts.
