Nos Ascendemus

23

"It's okay, I miss her every day and I know that she would have loved you the moment she met you. That's why I suggested naming our baby girl, Harper, in memory of her. Since she never truly got to live her life."

"It was the best thing you could have done."

"Really kitten?"

"Really, I love you."

"I love you too."

Six (6) months had passed after Benjamin's abrupt leave and return, since then the young couple had not had any incidents.

Today was the day that they were getting their family pictures taken since the twins had just turned seven (7) months old and Serah had picked out matching polar bear onesies for all of them to wear.

Currently, the Nilsson household was a hurricane of hair products, socks, bibs and other madness that neither parents had any idea where they had come from. The two (2) had gotten to the point where they were ready to tear their hair out.

Little Jasper was kicking up a fuss and had been throwing small tantrums throughout the morning and showed no signs of slowing down. He was upset with the fact that his baby sister was picked up before him.

The strawberry blonde had tried everything that she could think of to get him to calm down and yet, nothing seemed to work on him. Another major problem was that the photographer was scheduled to arrive in about half an hour.

The pair needed to find a way to calm down their baby boy before those thirty (30) minutes ran out. Benjamin came flying down the stairs of their apartment and nearly crashed into the wall.

"I THINK I GOT SOMETHING THAT WILL CALM LITTLE JAS DOWN!"

"Why in Odin's name are you yelling in my ear?"

"Sorry, kitten. You see how we thought he was throwing a tantrum because we picked up Harp first. I found out that this is not the case. Cause when I was cleaning up their toys, I found his blankie under the crib. You know that kid cannot sleep without this thing for the life of him."

"Oh my! How did we not notice that sooner? GO GIVE IT TO HIM."

"Okay okay, now look who is the one screaming."

Before she could make a retort and possibly take her husband's head clean off of his shoulders, the blonde man had runoff. Shaking her head, Serah returned to flat ironing her hair in the downstairs bathroom.

In the living room where the two (2) little babies were currently rolling around in their shared crib. Benjamin walked up to the pair and started cooing at them, all while making silly faces at them to get them to giggle.

He was successful and was glad that his son seemed to be able to find a little peace in between the tantrums he was throwing. The hazel orbs of the baby boy started welling back up with tears and he seemed to be gearing up for another screaming session.

Panicking, the blonde man quickly thrusted the missing blanket into the small chubby hands and immediately everything quieted down. Sighing in relief, he dropped to the floor and wiggled his fingers at Harper, who just babbled in her baby language.

Smiling fondly at the twins, he heaved himself off of the ground and started picking up any stray items that were laying on the floor. Packing them away neatly, he had just finished when a knock on the door rang through the wing.

"Bebis, can you get it? I'm just fixing my onesie."

"Alright, kitten."

Making his way over to the front door, Benjamin grasped the handle and pulled it open. On the other side was their friend, Willow Monroe. She was an aspiring therapist with a background in photography, so they thought who better else to ask to take the pictures.

"Hey Willow tree."

"Shut up. Where're my babies?'

"Excuse me, they are my babies."

The noirette rolled her eyes and waved her small hand dismissively at his statement. She murmured, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Shaking his head and chuckling, the blonde man stepped to the side and waved her into their home. Once she entered, he closed the door behind her and motioned for her to follow him. He guided her onto the balcony where they had decorated it for the photos.

Soon after, Serah joined them carrying both of the twins, who were looking absolutely adorable and it melted the three (3) adults' hearts. They all looked down at them, cooing and awing at the sight.

Once they had finished giving the siblings all the love and attention in the world, Willow started setting up her equipment. The couple sat down on the outdoor swing seat and watched as she took out several camera lenses with a few tripods.

She quickly finished her routine and turned to face the family with a bright smile. Clapping her hands together, she started directing them to where she wanted them to sit and how she needed them to pose.

Benjamin had little Harper in his arms, holding her like a little koala bear, while Serah sat next to him with her legs thrown over his and Jasper hugging her neck.

They were all facing the camera and smiling. Well in the babies' case, staring at the big black shiny thing, the strange woman was holding.

"Ready?"

"Yup!"

"Okay, say Cheese!"

They did as told and she snapped several photographs of them sitting like that and after she got a satisfactory amount, she directed them to new positions. This time the twins sat in between their parents with their favourite stuffed toys.

Harper had a small tiger in her chubby hands, while her big brother held a bright yellow jellyfish within his. The same routine happened and they continued to do this for a few more poses, then Willow announced that she was done.

"Great! Thank you so much, Willow!"

"Of course, blondie! I'll send them to you and your husband when I touch them up okay?"

"That is perfectly fine with us. Please stay for lunch."

"I would love to."