AzraelI took pictures as Leslie excitedly stuck out his head from the train; the breeze blowing against his hair and his eyes excited with the nature scenery around Japan.Leslie was my kid, but travelling brought out that soul in him more. No sleep for me if he was awake, talking my ears out on all the places he wanted to go.I never want him to cry or feel lonely when I’m around.“I can’t wait to take a lot of pictures.” Leslie said, and I sighed.“I’ve missed hot spring baths.”The train stopped, and we headed for one of the popular temples in Kyoto – Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine.We took a lot of pictures with a temple guide giving the history of the temple. I didn’t believe in any gods, unlike my parents and Leslie is Christian, so I couldn’t understand his fascination with temples.“Should we buy a charm or two? Maybe a souvenir?” Leslie asked.“Kid, these god statures aren’t for decorations and children touch things they shouldn’t. Let’s stick with the papers that won’t leave t
105LeslieI joined my friends at the table. They were all waiting, so I raised my hand to reveal the wedding ring.“Yes!!!” Everyone cheered.Some high-fives and hugged me.“Congratulations!” Isaac said and grinned. “You’re marrying my brother again. Welcome to the family.”We laughed at the joke, and I nudged Isaac.“I can’t wait to tell everyone, and it was all thanks to me.” Ancel gloated and pulled out his phone.“Hold on there cowboy, Lucas might have already beat you to it. He was the first person Azrael called to while we were in Japan.”“I’m still going to spice it up more. I still have a picture of the ring.” Ancel said and started typing.“Thank you.” I whispered to Ancel. “For helping me with the ring.”Ancel nudged me and smiled. “Anytime. Patronise my company to decorate your wedding. I’ll give a discount even though your fiancée is one of the wealthiest living things in the world.”“Of course. Just set an appointment for next week.”Ancel was genuinely happy, but his ey
The doorbell rang, and I opened it. Kaiyo stood there with a pout on his face and glared at me. I spread my arms across the door and leaned back a little.“You’re not here to dump tomato juice on me again, are you?” I asked, and he blushed.I smiled and lowered my arms.“I came to apologise, so listen closely, because I won’t say it again.” He puffed his chest and placed his hand on his hip. “I’m sorry for splashing juice on you and saying embarrassing things.”“Stay away from Mitsuki. You don’t deserve him. He’s mine.” I teased, and he turned red.“S-stop teasing me. Y-you be kissing my feet. I came here today.”I patted his head and smiled. “Do you want ice-cream? Sundae?”“What flavour?” He shook his head and wiped his mouth. “I’m not a dog.”He acted like Becca’s, one of Isaac’s twins in her teenage stage that doesn’t want to be smouldered by adults. It’s difficult to find innocence and pure naivety at his age these days.Everything I wouldn’t describe Lucas, me or Oliver as.“Com
LeslieThe soft strands of the brush glided carefully around my cheeks and stopped. I opened my eyes and stared at the mirror.The makeup artist did a terrific job making the makeup subtle. My hair was ready, cut shorter than the original length and gelled.Ancel opened the door, surveying seriously with a small note in his hand. He stayed at me and pulled out a white rose from the vase in the room.He placed the rose in my pocket and patted it.“Perfect but I liked the white suit better.”“You were going to make me wear a long veil if I wore that and this is my second marriage.”“You and Azrael would match but the blue isn’t bad. Soft and stable and I get to see you marry.” Ancel said and the door opened.Dad entered with a bouquet of hydrangeas and minor flowers. I recognised the flowers from mom’s garden and dad handed it to me.“Ancel, could you give us a minute?” Dad asked and Ancel winked.“Sure thing pops, have to make sure the set’s perfect.” Ancel said and left the room with
LeslieThe daily life of a marrying a spoilt rich international treasure.I wake up by five every morning for devotion and head to the kitchen. I enter the kitchen and start preparing school lunch for my kid.Ida joins me in the kitchen around six to make breakfast for everyone except I package Azrael’s breakfast because he wakes up when the driver takes Niko to school.Azrael wakes up around ten and eats breakfast late if he eats at all. On days Azrael wakes up early, I don’t work at home.I continue to unwrap wedding gifts from family, friends and fans, sorting things to give out and donate with the servants until I get exhausted.Our habits didn’t change after marriage, and we’ve been married for five months, but things were different in a good way. Pleasant.At least until now.I bolted to the bathroom and crouched in front of the toilet, gripped the toilet seat and hurled in the bowl. My stomach twisted in pain, but gentle pats soothed my churning stomach.“Is that better?” Azrae
AzraelLeslie’s second pregnancy journey was fierce. Tougher than the duration he was pregnant with Nikolaus.Week ten.Leslie eats mostly fruits because his nausea is heavy. He gets fatigued over minimum effort and sleeps for long durations. He cries a lot, but he bounces back after the mood swings.He craves churros with weird dips and ketchup a lot.Week seventeen.Leslie’s a little underweight but his bump is growing now. The doctor gave us a supplementary diet we’re strictly following. Leslie hates the taste, but Carson Campbell, Isaac and Lucas are great helps with improving the diet.Leslie’s nausea is getting better but his mood swings aren’t better.Week twenty-four.We’re going to go for a gender test but mother insists on a gender reveal party so the results will be mailed to her. Since we don’t know the baby’s gender, we decided to start decorating with neutral colours like orange and yellow, but Leslie wants purple.We haven’t started picking names, but we know bobby is g
A year has passed, and we’ve experienced wonderful and painful things together, but we’re fine and strong.Valentin proposed to Lucas, and they had a fast court wedding in April. No one knew but Ancel, and you can’t blame him. He found out the day they wedded.We knew because I didn’t hear from Lucas for two weeks, but his social media flooded with honeymoon and his past lovers called me to confirm if it was true.We’re happy for them but everyone in the family except Konrad hopes they don’t have a child as Lucas’ fertility period ends.There would be so much awkwardness every time Leslie and I saw that child and the age gap. Dominant omegas fertilities are just too long.There were bad times. Isaac and Sarah separated for a few months because of their careers and a client of Isaac that was Sarah’s childhood friend.It wouldn’t be my concern, but Isaac was my brother, and Lucas cried. They were a power-couple so watching them almost throw everything because of another woman; it was pa
“I’ve decided to get a job.” Leslie said as the plates in his husband’s hands dropped and broke into chunky pieces.“What, what do you mean, getting a job? Who is going to take care of the house?” Ben asked as Leslie glared at his husband for an offensive statement against his secondary gender.“Right, sorry. I’m used to having you home before I get home and when I married you, I promised to give you a comfortable life.” Ben said as he approached his husband before holding his slender hands.Leslie’s eyes softened, but he knew they had to face the situation at hand. He needed to be useful to his partner and society.“I know, but with the situation…” Leslie paused as his eyes met his husband’s eyes. “I know it’s tough for you, but if we keep waiting for you to get another job, we’ll be in more debt than we already are.”“You know I’m trying my best.”“Yes, and I love that about you,
A year has passed, and we’ve experienced wonderful and painful things together, but we’re fine and strong.Valentin proposed to Lucas, and they had a fast court wedding in April. No one knew but Ancel, and you can’t blame him. He found out the day they wedded.We knew because I didn’t hear from Lucas for two weeks, but his social media flooded with honeymoon and his past lovers called me to confirm if it was true.We’re happy for them but everyone in the family except Konrad hopes they don’t have a child as Lucas’ fertility period ends.There would be so much awkwardness every time Leslie and I saw that child and the age gap. Dominant omegas fertilities are just too long.There were bad times. Isaac and Sarah separated for a few months because of their careers and a client of Isaac that was Sarah’s childhood friend.It wouldn’t be my concern, but Isaac was my brother, and Lucas cried. They were a power-couple so watching them almost throw everything because of another woman; it was pa
AzraelLeslie’s second pregnancy journey was fierce. Tougher than the duration he was pregnant with Nikolaus.Week ten.Leslie eats mostly fruits because his nausea is heavy. He gets fatigued over minimum effort and sleeps for long durations. He cries a lot, but he bounces back after the mood swings.He craves churros with weird dips and ketchup a lot.Week seventeen.Leslie’s a little underweight but his bump is growing now. The doctor gave us a supplementary diet we’re strictly following. Leslie hates the taste, but Carson Campbell, Isaac and Lucas are great helps with improving the diet.Leslie’s nausea is getting better but his mood swings aren’t better.Week twenty-four.We’re going to go for a gender test but mother insists on a gender reveal party so the results will be mailed to her. Since we don’t know the baby’s gender, we decided to start decorating with neutral colours like orange and yellow, but Leslie wants purple.We haven’t started picking names, but we know bobby is g
LeslieThe daily life of a marrying a spoilt rich international treasure.I wake up by five every morning for devotion and head to the kitchen. I enter the kitchen and start preparing school lunch for my kid.Ida joins me in the kitchen around six to make breakfast for everyone except I package Azrael’s breakfast because he wakes up when the driver takes Niko to school.Azrael wakes up around ten and eats breakfast late if he eats at all. On days Azrael wakes up early, I don’t work at home.I continue to unwrap wedding gifts from family, friends and fans, sorting things to give out and donate with the servants until I get exhausted.Our habits didn’t change after marriage, and we’ve been married for five months, but things were different in a good way. Pleasant.At least until now.I bolted to the bathroom and crouched in front of the toilet, gripped the toilet seat and hurled in the bowl. My stomach twisted in pain, but gentle pats soothed my churning stomach.“Is that better?” Azrae
LeslieThe soft strands of the brush glided carefully around my cheeks and stopped. I opened my eyes and stared at the mirror.The makeup artist did a terrific job making the makeup subtle. My hair was ready, cut shorter than the original length and gelled.Ancel opened the door, surveying seriously with a small note in his hand. He stayed at me and pulled out a white rose from the vase in the room.He placed the rose in my pocket and patted it.“Perfect but I liked the white suit better.”“You were going to make me wear a long veil if I wore that and this is my second marriage.”“You and Azrael would match but the blue isn’t bad. Soft and stable and I get to see you marry.” Ancel said and the door opened.Dad entered with a bouquet of hydrangeas and minor flowers. I recognised the flowers from mom’s garden and dad handed it to me.“Ancel, could you give us a minute?” Dad asked and Ancel winked.“Sure thing pops, have to make sure the set’s perfect.” Ancel said and left the room with
The doorbell rang, and I opened it. Kaiyo stood there with a pout on his face and glared at me. I spread my arms across the door and leaned back a little.“You’re not here to dump tomato juice on me again, are you?” I asked, and he blushed.I smiled and lowered my arms.“I came to apologise, so listen closely, because I won’t say it again.” He puffed his chest and placed his hand on his hip. “I’m sorry for splashing juice on you and saying embarrassing things.”“Stay away from Mitsuki. You don’t deserve him. He’s mine.” I teased, and he turned red.“S-stop teasing me. Y-you be kissing my feet. I came here today.”I patted his head and smiled. “Do you want ice-cream? Sundae?”“What flavour?” He shook his head and wiped his mouth. “I’m not a dog.”He acted like Becca’s, one of Isaac’s twins in her teenage stage that doesn’t want to be smouldered by adults. It’s difficult to find innocence and pure naivety at his age these days.Everything I wouldn’t describe Lucas, me or Oliver as.“Com
105LeslieI joined my friends at the table. They were all waiting, so I raised my hand to reveal the wedding ring.“Yes!!!” Everyone cheered.Some high-fives and hugged me.“Congratulations!” Isaac said and grinned. “You’re marrying my brother again. Welcome to the family.”We laughed at the joke, and I nudged Isaac.“I can’t wait to tell everyone, and it was all thanks to me.” Ancel gloated and pulled out his phone.“Hold on there cowboy, Lucas might have already beat you to it. He was the first person Azrael called to while we were in Japan.”“I’m still going to spice it up more. I still have a picture of the ring.” Ancel said and started typing.“Thank you.” I whispered to Ancel. “For helping me with the ring.”Ancel nudged me and smiled. “Anytime. Patronise my company to decorate your wedding. I’ll give a discount even though your fiancée is one of the wealthiest living things in the world.”“Of course. Just set an appointment for next week.”Ancel was genuinely happy, but his ey
AzraelI took pictures as Leslie excitedly stuck out his head from the train; the breeze blowing against his hair and his eyes excited with the nature scenery around Japan.Leslie was my kid, but travelling brought out that soul in him more. No sleep for me if he was awake, talking my ears out on all the places he wanted to go.I never want him to cry or feel lonely when I’m around.“I can’t wait to take a lot of pictures.” Leslie said, and I sighed.“I’ve missed hot spring baths.”The train stopped, and we headed for one of the popular temples in Kyoto – Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine.We took a lot of pictures with a temple guide giving the history of the temple. I didn’t believe in any gods, unlike my parents and Leslie is Christian, so I couldn’t understand his fascination with temples.“Should we buy a charm or two? Maybe a souvenir?” Leslie asked.“Kid, these god statures aren’t for decorations and children touch things they shouldn’t. Let’s stick with the papers that won’t leave t
103Ben and I watched the examination Dr. Steve had with Niko. They were talking as Niko coloured and laughed.Dr. Steve touched a colour of the Rubik's cube and Niko would match the colours he picked as they talked about random topics unrelated to colours.Dr. Steve came out as a nurse took supervision, and we followed him to his office. We sat down and stared at Dr. Steve.My chest was heavy and my hands sweaty. I exhaled to ease the discomfort in my gut.“I have a few questions.” Dr. Steve said, and we nodded. “When was the first time you noticed your ward’s condition?”I stared at Ben, and he nodded in understanding.“When he was three. Nikolaus has always responded to the colour red as a baby, so I thought he liked the colour and yesterday, I confirmed he sees everything as red, with few exceptions.” I narrated, and Dr. Steve nodded.“What exceptions?” Dr. Steve asked.“Himself, me and objects that are actually the colour red.”Dr. Steve stared intensely at the both of us and exh
102LeslieKeystone Kindergarten was a beautiful building with welcoming graffiti and bright scenery. It was the beginning of a session. The school was full of parents, kids, and teachers.Azrael and I held Niko as we stared at the building before we saw a familiar toddler run towards us.“Remy!” Lennon screamed, and Niko broke loose from our hold.They hugged each other, laughing and giggling, then held hands. Lennon was a beautiful boy with a messy mop of brown hair, green eyes, and the brightest smile on his lovely face.“Leslie! Bethan!” Ben jogged towards us and stopped.“He’s so fast.” Ben said and hugged me. “It’s been a while.”Azrael frowned, and I wrapped Azrael’s arm around my shoulder. “You should keep a closer eye on him.”“Or a leash.” Azrael added, and we laughed.Ben checked his wristwatch and stared in shock. “I need to head for the office soon. I have a meeting in less than two hours.” Ben said.“It’s your second son’s first day of school. Be supportive.” I said and