Denial is the Way

Ender laid on the bed with the twins. The TV played in the background, although no one paid any mind to it. Ender has been trying and failing to play hide-and-seek with Emil and Vera.

 

He would cover his face, acting like he disappeared, then remove his hands to show he appeared again. 

 

They are only two weeks old, so this is most likely why they weren't into the game. 

 

Emil started sucking on his fingers, indicating he was hungry, while Vera moved around as her face looked a bit red. 

 

"Are you okay?" Ender asked, knowing that Vera could not answer him back. He could not help feeling a bit worried until a terrible smell began to fill the room. 

 

Ender sighed, "Did you poop?" 

 

Then he looked at Emil and asked, "Did your sister poop?" 

 

Vera started to cry, while Emil seemed not to care as he closed his eyes and sucked on his fingers. Ender knew that it was feeding time; Nevan is currently in the kitchen making the bottles. 

 

Ender reached into the open box of diapers next to the side of the bed. He pulled out a new, clean diaper, then got the baby wipes under his pillow to change Vera's diaper.  

 

He unstrapped Vera's dirty diaper, sighing a bit at the mess inside. As he started cleaning and changing Vera's diaper, Nevan walked into the room with two ready bottles. 

 

"Can you start feeding Emil, please? He is hungry, and I am changing Vera's diaper." Ender told Nevan. 

 

Nevan nodded as he set the bottles on the nightstand. He got on the bed, picking Emil up. "Are you ready to eat, little one?" Nevan cooed. 

 

Emil made a noise as he continued to suck his fingers. 

 

Nevan chuckled, grabbing the bottle as he softly removed Emil's fingers from his mouth, replacing it with the bottle's nipple. 

 

Emil quickly latched on, sucking the nipple as he started eating. Emil put his tiny hands up like he wanted to hold the bottle himself. 

 

Nevan noticed. "Aw, such a big boy. But not yet, Emil; daddy still needs to help you." 

 

Once Ender finished changing Vera, he quickly left the room to throw away the dirty diaper. He washed his hands along the way before returning to his bedroom. 

 

When he came back, he grabbed the other bottle before getting on the bed again. Then, he picked up Vera, holding her as he started feeding her. 

 

Vera took a second longer to latch onto the bottle's nipple, and Ender did not want to jam it into her mouth. "Come on, Vera. Aren't you hungry?" 

 

Like she was answering the question, Vera finally latched on and started eating. 

 

As they fed the babies, Ender started to speak, "Oh, their umbilical cords came off, so you know what that means?" 

 

"Bath time today," Nevan responded. 

 

"Yep! We can finally use the baby bathtubs that Thana bought us." 

 

"You sound so excited." 

 

"At this point, anything the twins do will make me excited. I am falling into the parent hole, Nevan." 

 

Nevan laughed, "Then I shall fall with you." 

 

They finished feeding the twins most of the bottles. Then, Nevan and Ender put the bottles away, putting the babies in a sitting position as they began to burp them. 

 

Ender got a small towel for Vera since she spits up a bit more than Emil. 

 

Once they finished burping the babies, they set them back on the blankets. Emil and Vera tried to keep their eyes open, but they ended up closing them after two minutes. 

 

Ender quickly stood up, leaving the room to get the baby bathtubs. Then, he walked back into the room with both in his hands. 

 

"Bathroom sink?" Nevan asked. 

 

Ender had two sinks in his bathroom that were big enough to fit the tubs on them for the babies. He nodded, walking to the bathroom to set them on the sink. 

 

Nevan carefully picked both of the babies up, taking them to the bathroom. Ender bent down, taking out baby body wash. He took out two that had labels on them. 

 

One said Emil, and the other said Vera. 

 

Ender set them on the sink before grabbing Emil from Nevan. He safely put the baby in the tub. Nevan did the same for Vera. 

 

They moved the tubs towards them when they turned on the water to make sure the temperature was suitable for the twins. 

 

Once it was, they put the tubs back in their original position, stripping the twins, and began to wash them tenderly. 

 

Emil and Vera did not like being disturbed after eating, so they both complained. Vera cried a bit while Emil made faces to show his displeasure. 

 

"I know, love, this is only for a few minutes. I swear I will finish quickly." Nevan tried to reassure Vera. 

 

"Ah, don't frown, Emil; I promise papa will be quick," Ender told Emil. 

 

When they finished, Ender grabbed two small towels for the twins, giving one to Nevan. They dried the babies off before wrapping them in the towels and walking back into the bedroom. 

 

They put the babies in new clothes and diapers. Nevan and Ender even put some socks and beanies on them. Then, finally, the twins became silent again, going back to sleep. 

 

Nevan chuckled as Ender kissed them. "We should take them to bed," Ender spoke. 

 

Nevan hummed. 

 

They took the twins to their room, putting them in their cribs, making sure everything was okay. Ender turned on the baby monitor as they left the door open. 

 

The room was a short distance from their bedroom, so they could quickly enter if they needed to. 

 

When they entered their bedroom again, Ender jumped on the bed, lying down. Nevan joined him, pulling Ender into his arms. "Tired?" 

 

Ender hummed, "A bit." 

 

Nevan grabbed Ender's chin, making Ender face him as he brought their faces closer to each other. He softly kissed Ender. 

 

The kiss quickly changed as Ender wrapped his arms around Nevan and got on top of him. Ender parted his lips, letting Nevan's tongue enter. Their tongues battled each other as Nevan won, exploring Ender's mouth.

 

Nevan's hands moved down Ender's back, stopping at his hips as he squeezed them. Ender moaned as he ran his fingers through Nevan's hair. 

 

Nevan swallowed down the moan as the surrounding air became heated. 

 

They made out for a couple more minutes, softly grinding against each other. 

 

When they finally separated, Ender rested his forehead on Nevan's forehead. They were breathing hard. 

 

Nevan gave him a quick, soft kiss before saying, "I love you." 

 

Ender smiled, moving off Nevan a bit as he rested his head on the man's shoulder. He closed his eyes. 

 

"I love you too."

---

Arc Two begins, meaning there are only 31 chapters left before the story ends. (Or 24 chapters and 7 extras.)

(I meant for Ender to have two sinks since his bedroom is the master bedroom. If it didn’t seem like that in the other chapters, I apologize.)