Everyone greeted them as soon as Stefan and Cayenne came home along with their triplets. Their whole family prepared the welcoming party for the couple and their kids, and just seeing their smiling faces was enough to tell Cayenne and Stefan how much love and care their children were receiving from so many people. Their friends came as well.
"Can I hold my niece?" Luiz asked and it was evident on his face how much he anticipated this moment to come. He was even holding the little figurine of an angel which he got during the gender reveal party. He might be biased towards this little girl but that usually happens among families. That doesn't mean he didn't love his nephews just because he was excited to hold her.
"Hmm." Stefan hesitated for a moment but Cayenne was ready to hand her little girl to Luiz and she did. What else can he do aside from glaring at Luiz? "Did you wash your hands?" Stefan asked after a moment of silence. "You know that children are fragile and weak creatures. They're easy to get - "
"They know." Cayenne interrupted because she knew that once Stefan started his lecture, it would take long before he'd stop. "They've waited for a long time just to hold the kids. Let them have this chance today."
"Fine. Just this once."
As soon as Stefan agreed, Magnus took Aziel and Stanley carried Zeki off. For the first time in a while, no one paid attention to Cayenne and Stefan. Everyone was fawning over the kids.
Stefan was worried, though. Every single time that someone touches his daughter or his sons, his face would crumple and he was glaring at the person who touched his kids. Surely, he has forgotten the words he said before they were born.
Noticing his behavior, Cayenne covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. "I'm pretty sure everyone knows how to take care of children. Nothing bad will happen to them." Stefan didn't say a word. "Hmm...I remember that someone told me I would always be the number one in his eyes but, he can't even look away from the children for one second."
"Ah? Haa?" Stefan instantly shifted his attention to his wife only to find her grinning from ear to ear beside him. "You were teasing me, weren't you?"
"Of course, not. I'm extremely upset. Very, very upset that I don't get the same attention from you as before."
Stefan pulled his wife for a hug and apologized to her immediately even though he knew that Cayenne was just kidding with him. He still went along with her drama. "I still love you the most. I just care for the children after all the hardships you went through for the last 7 months."
"It was more like you having trouble with my pregnancy. I wasn't really having a hard time because you were with me."
Luiz caught his sister and brother-in-law being sweet and lovey-dovey again and he could only sigh helplessly. Having children or no children, the two of them didn't change at all.
"Ara, Jaz, Jazi, Hmm, what will be the best nickname for you?" Luiz muttered and the little girl smiled sweetly as if understanding the trouble that Luiz was having. "Ara. Do you like it? Ara.' The little princess smiled brightly even with her eyes closed. She must have liked her nickname.
Magnus and the others were thinking of Aziel's nickname as well. They were brainstorming the child's nickname when Aziel cried loudly and caught Stefan's attention.
"What happened? Dad, what did you do?"
Magnus returned the child to Stefan and sighed for being wronged. "How would I know? We were just thinking of the appropriate nickname for him."
"He probably disliked the name you gave him, right my little Azi." Aziel smiled at his father's words and when Stefan tried letting his father hold the child again, Aziel would only cry. They could only laugh at Magnus who felt betrayed by his own grandson.
"Can I hold him?" Sabrina asked nervously since she never tried holding an infant before. This will be her first time doing so and her heart couldn't stop beating like a drum. "I...I'll be very careful with him."
"You have to be extra careful." Stefan reminded her and Sabrina nodded with her trembling hands.
"Let me help," Erwin said and the two of them looked like real parents who held their firstborn child; though it wasn't theirs.
"When are you going to make your own child?" Reuben interrogated and Sabrina blushed profusely at the question. Of course, that occurred during her conversation with Erwin but both of them were still young and Erwin was still working on getting on her parents' good side. She can't just hastily make one without thorough preparation.
"Maybe if you give your parents a grandchild, they will approve of Erwin without any hesitation."
The idea made others grimace but seeing the couple's tomato-red faces, they couldn't stop themselves from laughing. "That's a good suggestion," Magnus added.
"No, just take your time," Stanley said, contradicting Magnus and Reuben. Soon, a thunderous atmosphere began to surround these three men.
As the three of them made a ruckus, Zeki was just observing everyone. At some point, Stanley even started getting worried.
"Isn't he too quiet?" Kyle asked when he observed this on Zeki. "He never made a sound since earlier. He just kept looking at the people. Ara and Azi weren't even looking at us like how he does."
"Now that you have mentioned it, it feels like he's seeing through my soul," Dominique added.
Jade didn't comment. She wanted to hold the child as well but since the adults wanted to go first, she can only wait for them to finish. She was also thinking of the same thing.
"Welcome home." Dr. Albert greeted with Latticia walking beside her. Just hearing his voice was enough for Magnus to change his attitude and when he saw the woman walking beside him, he felt even angrier for whatever reason he could think.
"I'm glad...that you...are safe...home." Latticia added in between dry gulps. She shifted her eyes to the children and her eyes met with Zeki. Her heart lurched to her throat and the child showed emotion for the first time.
Slowly, his lips pulled to a smile as he looked at his grandmother.
Not just Stanley, but everyone who saw the child's reaction was caught by the sudden surprise. All this time, he was silently watching everyone but he smiled as soon as he saw 'Alice' enter.
"D-do, do you want to hold him?" Stanley asked his sister and before Magnus could say something, Stefan held his father by the shoulder to stop him. "He seems to like you."
Aside from the few people who knew Latticia's real identity, the others were quite baffled at Zeki's reaction to the woman. She wasn't even related to the child or the parents – that's what they thought.