A/N: Happy new month guys!! Sadly weren't able to catch that top spot (it was so close ugh) but I'm touched by everyone's efforts. Some angels even gave me tens and tens of GTs *sobs*
I will still upload an extra chap tomorrow to express my thank you! Love you guys! ƒгeewёbnovel.com
TL;DR: This chap is mostly on the kids and some hints of some future dynamics xD. Chapter request ("More babies please") From discord lovelies Dejel and BoneRuler~
...
____
Planning a party wasn't a 10-minute thing. Inevitably, the babies would get bored just sitting there.
Wiggling their diapered bums, the two babies crept out of their parents' laps and headed to the table where Theo was doing his homework.
Seeing the babies, the bigger kid put down his book and notebook and placed them in the space to do for later.
Theo—even the other kids Maya and Horus (who were now in friends' houses) —did not show any impatience at all even when they were 'harassed' by the twins, which was sweet and admirable.
And so… while the adults planned, the babies were playing around with the older kid.
At first, Meatball was with the other two on the play area side of the room. He then saw his AwesomeMan action figure—complete with cape—and decided to make him fly around the house.
The important part to Meatball was that the cape had to flutter, otherwise, it was a useless cape.
And so… Meatball came running all over again, making 'zoom zoom' sounds he associated with the superhero (as told during Uncle Ansel's story times).
Fortunately, the hallways were wide so he was relatively unimpeded. He was like a hyperactive puppy that zoomed everywhere, just looking to use up that boundless energy.
Unexpectedly, he stopped and squatted down, his diapered bum almost touching the floor. The adults' eyebrows rose, wondering what he saw until he grabbed it with his tiny hands and opened his mouth to eat it.
The nearest adult, Ansel, was sitting nearby. In his hurry, he ended up crawling like a lizard, arriving just in time to stop him.
"Meatball! What's that?" he gasped, taking it away. The other adults also stopped what they were doing and looked over.
It was a toy ball owned by the neighbor kittens. Since the animals and children played around all four lots, the toys tended to get scattered all over.
"This is a cat toy! Don't eat it!" Ansel said, reprimanding the kid. But then the baby boy looked up at him with those rounded eyes and Ansel's tone softened. "It's dirty…"
Little Meatball was always trying to eat everything—it was getting alarming.
Althea—who had also run over with the others around the same time as Ansel did— kneeled down to check her son's mouth. She heaved a deep breath when she saw there was nothing unusual.
Then, she looked at the baby with furrowed eyebrows—genuinely confused.
"Why are you like this?" she asked, not noticing the people around her giving a side eye.
That said, she just placed a pacifier in his mouth, one that was tied on his neck so it wouldn't drop to the floor when he spits it out, before letting him go.
"Don't eat random things," she said, then paused in wonder. "Though it won't be too bad to strengthen the stomach."
Everyone: "..."
…
On another—decidedly more peaceful— side, Theo was playing dolls with Pepper. On one side of the ground floor living room, there was a large play area where the kids' toys were placed.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World