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"You come back here right now!" Zoey shouted when she saw the little rascal with her mischievous little hands full of cookies. Jiwoo didn't wait a second before running off, grabbing as many cookies as she could. Behind her, Soojin carried a whole plate of cookies with a huge grin on her face as the two ran away from their Mami.
Rumi and Mira stared at the scene, unsure whether they should help or just watch and laugh.
"Well, at least one of them knows how to obey," Mira shrugged, crouching down to be at Miyeong's eye level and stroked her shiny black hair, loose in beautiful waves. She lifted her daughter off the ground and settled her on her hip, giving her little kisses on her chubby cheek.
"No mowe kisses," Miyeong put her hand in front of Mira's mouth, and promptly extended her arms toward Rumi. Traitor.
"Is it too much to ask that you love me?" Mira pouted, trying to keep her daughter in her arms with a little blackmail. Miyeong rolled her eyes and crossed her little arms. "Why do you want to go to Eomma? Stay here with me!"
Miyeong stretched toward Rumi two more times while Mira pushed her away and gave her more kisses on her cheeks, but Miyeong still had a little hand outstretched toward Rumi.
"So you don't love me," Mira let out a sad sigh, walking with Miyeong in her arms as far away from Rumi as possible and glaring at her baby with a big pout. "Just a little bit? Just a few snuggles? Please? Pretty please?”
Rumi rolled her eyes playfully, quite amused with Mira attempts, but no matter how far apart they were, Miyeong continued searching for Rumi there.
Rumi made the mistake of letting a chuckle slip out. And of course Mira heard it.
"Oh. My wife doesn’t love me either and decides to mock me. What a lovely day!"
Rumi tried to stop Mira, aware of the reason Miyeong was reaching out to her. "Stop being so dramatic, she just wants—"
“My wife and my daughter hate me,” Mira dramatized with a fake sob. “I think I’ll die of sadness by the end of the day.”
That had some effect on Miyeong and made the little girl look at Mira for five whole seconds.
“Mommy! I luv you!” She cupped Mira's face between her small hands.
Mira kissed her little hands, which were covered in cookie crumbs, and promptly began cleaning them off. She would stop bothering her daughter and hand her to Rumi, she just needed to wipe the cookie crumbs scattered across her little face as well. Miyeong stayed quiet in Mira's arms, a sad pout forming again.
"Oh baby don’t cry, Mommy is almost done!"
"Mommy, I wan my bwankie pwease?" Miyeong asked, her little eyes shining with suppressed tears, and then Mira understood the reason for her bad mood and her desire to go into Rumi's arms—the little girl's comfort object was right there, on Rumi's shoulder. "I alweady eat my cookis!"
They didn’t let Miyeong keep her blankie during meals. They always tried to keep it as clean as possible, given their daughter's history of crying her lungs out whenever they needed to wash it.
Mira felt a little pathetic for making such a fuss. "Oh, right."
Rumi put her hand in front of her mouth to avoid laughing. She really had married a drama queen. Mira didn't even look her in the eyes when she pulled the blanket off Rumi's shoulder, she was not happy at all about being the butt of a joke.
Miyeong received the blankie with a contented sigh, letting a few tears fall, then she rubbed her cheeks against it, resting it on Mira's shoulder and lying there with her eyes half-closed, gazing at Rumi.
Rumi gently stroked her cheek and arranged her daughter's hair, smiling as she noticed Miyeong closing her eyes and opening them again. Nap time was approaching, and one of the triplets always respected her own biological clock.
The other two, on the other hand...
"You stay here for two minutes! If I say no, it's no!" Zoey guided the two to the time-out corner, returning to her wives with the almost empty plate of cookies and a red face. Whether from tiredness or irritation, they couldn't tell. "Why do they never obey? I said just one cookie, but of course they tried to trick me, steal the plate and eat five! Five!"
"Poor thing," Rumi maintained a clearly visible smile as she patted Zoey on the head, who remained irritated and complaining about the two troublemakers. They're already used to it, but Zoey still gets frustrated whenever her daughters seem ready to obey but then decide to test the limits of the house rules—and their mothers' patience.
They stared at their mothers out of the corner of their eyes while crying their hearts out and repeating that they were sorry. And although Zoey already wanted to take them out of time-out and hug them, she knew that if she relaxed her hand, her daughters would never learn to obey.
"I sowwy Mami!" Jiwoo said, but Zoey just narrowed her eyes and told her they still had forty more seconds of time-out.
Jiwoo and Soojin cried as if forty seconds would last an eternity.
"Can you two sort this out? I'm going to put Miyeong to bed," Mira kissed Rumi's temple and Zoey's forehead. Miyeong continued sleeping peacefully, her head resting on Mira's shoulder, one small hand firmly on the blanket, the other dangling from Mira's shoulder.
"Aww, Mimi's already dozing off," Zoey cooed. She slowly approached her daughter to give her a little kiss on the hand.
As soon as Mira left towards the triplets' room, it was time to deal with the crying fit. Jiwoo and Soojin liked to get into mischief. They were constantly testing their mothers' patience, and instantly regretted it whenever they were grounded; the two tended to cry the moment they got near the time-out corner, repeating apologies over and over and calling for their mothers.
"Soo," Rumi called gently, kneeling beside her.
"Jiji," Zoey said, repeating her wife's movement.
And soon the two were sniffling and wiping their faces with their shirt collars, standing in front of their mothers. When Rumi asked them if they understood why they were grounded, they tearfully said they were very sorry for disobeying and eating too many cookies. Zoey may have felt like a monster for putting them in time-out at that moment, but she couldn't comfort them yet.
"And do you know why you can't eat too many cookies?" Jiwoo and Soojin bobbed their heads up and down in response to Zoey's question. "Your teeth are still too small for so many cookies, princesses. It's also bad for your tummy. You won't get any more cookies today, understood?"
They nodded again, "I sowwy Mami, I sowwy Eomma!"
"It's okay, princesses, we forgive you. Do you want a hug?" Rumi offered, already opening her arms in invitation, and Soojin ran to her instantly.
Jiwoo ran into Zoey's arms without warning, and her mother let out a surprised 'oof' as she wrapped her arms around the little one. They were both still crying, soft whimpers and sniffles echoing.
"There, there," Zoey gently stroked Jiwoo’s hair, lifting her from the floor in her arms, one hand patting her bottom maternally. "Let's brush your teeth so we can take a nap, okay, princess?"
"'Kay," Jiwoo said softly, her little hands gripping the hair at the nape of her mother's neck.
Zoey and Rumi exchanged a half-smile as they carried their daughters to the bathroom.
Mira and Rumi had to admit that fulfilling their wife's wishes and agreeing to have a Christmas more like the one Zoey experienced when she lived in Burbank was, in fact, a lot of fun.
Mira had never been a fan of Christmas, but she would do anything for her girls. She used to take them on dates on Christmas Eve, and always loved any opportunity to pamper them with gifts, even back when the idea of Christmas wasn’t really appealing to her. Rumi, on the other hand, didn't usually mind. She would do anything they asked and accept any ideas her girls had about anything, having fun with them and enjoying their time together. But since the triplets were born, their opinions about Christmas had changed.
The first Christmas together, the little ones had been still crawling. There hadn’t been much difference that Christmas, but their house already started to gain more color because Zoey wanted to put up decorations and start traditions. They had made a Christmas cake and put up a tree together, exchanging gifts on Christmas Day.
For their second family Christmas, the triplets could already walk and speak enough words to ask for a specific dinner. The house had been decorated with the help of the little ones that time, and Jiwoo placed the star on top of the tree. They had worn matching pajamas and exchanged gifts on Christmas Day, and prepared another dinner together too.
For their third Christmas, Mira had committed to learn how to build gingerbread houses. She had built a few that broke in her hands before she got the hang of it and built a house with small figures representing each member of their family. It had been a little messy, but it was beautiful. Perfect for a family Christmas despite being crooked—she would definitely dedicate several months of her life to intensive lessons with some gingerbread-house-expert so that the next one she built would be even better.
The decorations had increased that third year as well, more ornaments around the house, the tree a little bigger. Soojin had placed the star on top of it with the help of Nana Celine. They had gotten matching pajamas with their mothers and helped make dinner and Christmas cake—maybe they made a huge mess in the process, but nobody said anything about it.
For this fourth Christmas, they were committed to bring the joyful and fun atmosphere to the next level.
On the first snowfall, they took the children out fully bundled up and went to play in a secluded park, seeking some privacy. They built snowmen together, had a snowball fight in which they let the triplets win just to see the smiles on their little faces.
They went shopping for new decorations together at the store too, letting the children choose their favorites, and maybe they went a little overboard with the Christmas lights in the penthouse, but nobody could really blame them. Their daughters were loving every second, and it was up to them to indulge their wishes.
Their house became more magical with each passing day of December, and Rumi and Mira learned to love every detail of that holiday. It wasn't just a simple day anymore. It was a time when their family was even closer, happier; they felt ecstatic with joy during that Christmas week, just as Zoey had envisioned.
They had even made a schedule.
December 23rd was reserved for cookies and watching one of Zoey's favorite Christmas movies—Klaus. The triplets usually watched movies in installments. They started watching in the morning, after breakfast. Then they watched a little more when they woke up from their naps and before bedtime as well. Perhaps Zoey regretted showing the movie to her daughters when the thousands of questions began. Oh boy. Soojin really only stayed quiet when she was sleeping. Jiwoo, on the other hand, not even when sleeping—her bed was full of safety rails, and some days she still woke up on the rug.
The 24th began with three beans bursting into their room carrying gifts and sporting the biggest smiles possible on their faces.
"Pwesents Mommy! Nana Celine give us pwesents!" Jiwoo announced, a small package in her little hands.
Mira and Rumi had to fight their urge to pretend they didn't have children awake and calling for them. Maybe if they tucked them into bed for another five minutes they might wake up more peacefully, but of course Zoey had to be a good mother and sit up in bed instead of pretending to be asleep, ruining their plan.
"Good mor—" Zoey yawned loudly, rubbing sleep from her eyes and forcing them open. "Good morning, princesses. What do you have there?"
Mira seemed to have made the connection between what it meant to have three children with presents in their hands if they didn't remember putting any presents around the house themselves. Someone had been in their house and given presents to their beans, and in Mira's mind she could already visualize a thousand accidents happening in the who-knows-how-long the triplets were alone wandering around the house. But she didn't need to spiral for long, thankfully. Rumi was already checking her phone and informing her that Bobby had just left the penthouse after delivering the packages to the girls and guiding them to their mothers' room.
"Uncle Bobby gave you presents, my darlings?" Rumi asked in a sweet, low voice, yawning afterward.
"Yes Eomma!" Soojin and Jiwoo answered together with an excited shout.
And then Miyeong's voice sounded, soft and reluctant, "Uncle Bobby sad the pwesents is fom Nana Celine."
"Awww," Mira cooed. She got out of bed and approached her little princesses, then scooped the three of them into her arms, giving them kisses on their messy hair and carrying them to the bed.
The triplets fell onto the mattress amidst giggles, calling Mira silly and trying to get up without crushing the presents even more.
As soon as Mira sat back down on the bed, Soojin and Jiwoo forgot about the presents and crawled over to her, hugging her tightly and giving her kisses on the cheeks.
"Good morning, my two beautiful princesses," Mira whispered, letting out another yawn.
"Ew, Mommy, go bush yous teef!" Soojin waved her little hand in front of her nose and made a face. Jiwoo giggled mischievously, pinching her nose with her index finger and thumb.
"Hey now—! You two have stinky mouths too!" Mira pinched their little noses. They giggled and hugged her again.
Miyeong wasn't very interested in joining Mommy's hugs. She thought it better to snuggle with Rumi, who was still lying under the sheets with her eyes half-closed.
"Good morning, princess," Rumi said when Miyeong lay down beside her, and little hands reached under her shirt, clinging to her.
"I don't get a hug?" Zoey pouted and crossed her arms, indignant at being so betrayed, so of course she proceeded to mumble, “Have children, they said. It'll be fun, they said.”
"Yes Mami, I sowwy!" Miyeong was already reaching out her little hand toward Zoey, and she took that small palm and gave it a little kiss.
"Don't apologize, princess, it's okay," Zoey approached her, giving more little kisses on Miyeong's face, hair, and back. As soon as she finished peppering kisses on her daughter, Zoey moved her face toward Rumi and gently sealed her lips with hers. "Good morning, cariño."
"Good morning, amor," Rumi replied softly against her lips, giving her another quick peck.
Zoey carefully placed her hand on the mattress and was already leaning toward Mira with a pout on her lips, about to receive a good morning kiss when a small hand raised and an index finger wagged from side to side.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Jiwoo shook her head from side to side, and grabbed Mira's clothes with a decidedly unfriendly look. "Mine!" She gave her mommy a kiss on the cheek.
"Ous!" Soojin agreed, placing a little kiss on Mira’s other cheek.
Rumi and Zoey exchanged glances and wanted to laugh, but preferred to test the veracity of that statement. Zoey leaned in Mira’s direction again, and this time Mira imitated her movements, a pout on her lips as they approached each other, but a little hand was placed in front of Mira's mouth.
"Mommy! No kisses fow Mami, you ous!" Soojin scolded, her hand firmly in front of Mira's mouth.
Rumi couldn't help but laugh.
This was new.
"Ous Mommy!" Jiwoo informed them, a narrowed gaze directed at her other mothers. The little one clung to Mira's neck and gave her another loud, slobbery kiss near her ear.
Mira grimaced and wiped the saliva on her shoulder, but returned her daughter's kiss with another on her black hair.
"But I belong to Mami, Miyeong, and Eomma too, princesses. You've already gotten a good morning kiss, now it's their turn!" Mira tried to argue, but Jiwoo and Soojin's irritated pouts seemed quite clear—a "no way" clearly visible in their expressions.
"We just want a smoochy, sweeties!" Rumi pleaded, a playful pout on her lips. Jiwoo shook her head side to side again, hugging Mira and hiding her face in the crook of her neck.
Soojin imitated her sister's movements, similarly hugging Mira and hiding her face on the other side of her neck.
Rumi and Zoey approached Mira and quickly shared a three-way peck; they just wanted to wish their wife good morning without upsetting their beans.
"Hey!" Jiwoo complained, emerging from her hiding place in time to see Zoey wiping Mira's mouth. "Ous mommy! Shoo!"
"Gah—!" Zoey's jaw dropped to the floor. "Dont shoo me, missy!"
"Ous mommy!"
"My wife!"
"My mommy!"
"My wife!"
Rumi moved closer to Miyeong and gave her a little kiss on the cheek, whispering a plan to calm the noise in the room. The little girl agreed with a quick nod, her eyes shining with excitement. She promptly grabbed a present Celine had sent, and the sound of the packaging being torn open was louder than the argument between Zoey, Soojin, and Jiwoo.
"Pwesents!"
They jumped off Mira's lap so quickly it didn't even seem like they'd been fighting over her attention just seconds before.
"Traitors," Mira narrowed her eyes, glancing at her daughters amusedly.
Rumi was now sitting with her legs spread on the bed, Miyeong settled in front of her, tearing open the wrapping and smiling as she was discovering what was inside. Jiwoo and Soojin joined their sister soon after, each grabbing a package and starting to wrestle with the wrappings.
And Zoey couldn't waste this opportunity to reclaim her rightful place, obviously. She straddled Mira's thighs, hands finding her nape, fingers gently tracing her undercut, the caresses sending shivers through Mira's body.
"Hey you," Zoey smiled mischievously, the glint in her eyes somewhat hungry as she leaned in to steal a few kisses.
But a single kiss was all it took for Mira to pull her away, gently caressing Zoey's thighs and lifting her from her legs, guiding her back to the mattress.
Zoey almost got mad, but the sound of giggles echoing in the room reminded her of something extremely important. No making out with children around.
Even if they were distracted by the presents, they shouldn't do that under any circumstances. Maybe when they were asleep at night they could have some fun—if they had any energy left, at least.
The triplets continued giggling as they opened the presents, and Rumi just made sure to keep them away from the edge of the bed. Celine had texted her saying she couldn't be with them for Christmas; she was on Jeju reuniting with an old friend she hadn't seen since the Sunlight Sisters broke up, so she sent presents. That's why Bobby was at their house earlier, delivering gifts when he found the girls awake. Some were placed by Bobby under the tree, and others had a note in each package saying they could be opened now, so he gave them to the triplets.
As soon as the little girls lifted what was hidden inside the packages, their mothers couldn't help but smile.
Sweaters. Each package contained two of similar colors, one adult-sized and one smaller, with matching prints.
Rumi and Miyeong's sweaters were one purple and the other lilac, with brown teddy bear prints. Mira and Soojin's were pink, the smaller one a lighter shade, both with polar bears. Jiwoo and Zoey's were blue with panda bears.
All the sweater designs featured bears wearing Santa hats, small decorated trees, candy canes, and snowmen.
They put on the sweaters and sent a photo to Celine, then recorded a voice message thanking her for the gifts.
"Alright everyone!" Zoey raised her index finger, smiling as she gained their attention. "Today's the day to make gingerbread cookies, decorate the tree, build gingerbread houses and bake our christmas cake!"
"My day to build gingerbread houses, you mean." Mira raised an eyebrow, her tone completely smug. She'd spent months preparing for this moment. Now it was time to impress her daughters and her wives.
"You heard Mommy, it's her gingerbread house day and we decorate the tree," Rumi announced, unable to refuse Mira's request. Zoey and Rumi knew how hard she'd worked to learn, they wouldn't take her moment—but maybe they could try to help, it shouldn't be that difficult.
It was that difficult.
Rumi and Zoey stared at what must have been a gingerbread house while scratching the backs of their necks.
What a load of crap.
"I mean, it is a house," Zoey waved her hand above the cookie structure, trying to sound positive but ended up laughing uncontrollably halfway through. "A demolished, horrible house."
Rumi puffed out her cheeks, a rosy hue appearing on her cheekbones. Damn. That attempt at a gingerbread house was awful.
The triplets were napping; it was late afternoon. They would wake up soon to decorate the tree. Mira was still working non-stop on her gingerbread houses. She'd made three. One for each of the daughters, with little gingerbread animals in front of the houses: a dinosaur for Soojin, a rabbit for Jiwoo, and a bear for Miyeong.
Mira was covered in pink, purple, blue, yellow, red, green, and white icing. Her expression was so focused; she hadn’t stopped working regardless of any noise around her. Extremely focused on finishing her daughters' houses before the end of the day, still wearing that adorable pink ugly sweater, with her hair tied in a high ponytail, her brown roots showing between the pink strands. The three houses were already perfectly assembled, just being decorated now, and then she had three cookie animals to decorate—she worked so hard to give them the perfect shape. Piping bags filled with icing in other colors were near those cookies; she was truly engrossed in her mission.
Zoey and Rumi didn't dare bother her, more concerned with cleaning up their own mess and themselves. Now they had a more important mission: keeping their daughters away from the kitchen while Mira finished preparing the children's gingerbread houses.
Thankfully, the triplets slept long enough for Rumi and Zoey to get ready—they weren't at all keen on dealing with a crying fit because they couldn't cuddle them without a shower first. After the shower, they went together to the children's room, opening the door slowly just to check if they were sleeping or already awake.
To their surprise, the children were still asleep. Perhaps they were tired from the somewhat hectic Christmas routine. Jiwoo and Soojin were no longer in their beds; they found the two of them snuggled up on either side of Miyeong in her bed, hugging their sister's body as if she were a giant pillow. Rumi watched the scene with a restrained smile; it was simply adorable. Zoey's eyes were wide open and shining, a huge smile on her face. She had to stop herself from making noise so as not to wake her daughters with a start, but internally she was squealing.
Slowly, they sat on the floor near the Montessori bed and began to whisper their daughters' names.
"Hey my loves, it's time to wake up," Rumi said a little louder, but kept her voice soft. Gently, she ran her hand through Miyeong's hair, then her fingers across Soojin's cheeks. Zoey was waking Jiwoo in the way their bunny loved, peppering kisses on her back.
Miyeong was the first to wake up, opening her eyes slowly. The pacifier fell out of her mouth as she yawned, and Rumi giggled as she stroked her messy black hair.
"Good afternoon Mimi," Zoey gave her a kiss on the forehead, then returned to her mission of waking Jiwoo.
Soojin didn't take long to wake up, she rubbed her eyes and stretched, then yawned loudly and sat up quickly in bed, fumbling under the sheet for her pacifier and finding it near the safety rails.
Miyeong and Soojin crawled out of bed, pacifiers in their mouths and their eyes still fighting sleep, but they were more interested in going to their Eomma for some cuddles. Rumi smiled softly, receiving them both in her arms and giving them kisses on the head.
Zoey got into bed and occupied the empty space next to Jiwoo, still trying to wake up that young lady who always gave them the most trouble getting out of her naps.
She kissed Jiwoo cheek and nose, then called her softly, “Jiji, babe, it’s time to—”
“Woman, lemme s'eep,” Jiwoo murmured, pushing Zoey’s face away.
Rumi swallowed a laugh.
“Excuse me?” Zoey opened her mouth in surprise.
“You iscussed,” Jiwoo waved her small hand in front of Zoey’s face, a clear ‘shoo’.
Zoey stared at Rumi with a disbelieving expression on her face.
Rumi simply shrugged. There was no doubt that Jiwoo was Mira's daughter. How many times had Rumi and Zoey tried to wake Mira up a little earlier and received those same words in response? They couldn't count. Countless times indeed. The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.
Eventually, the three of them left the room after some snuggles, kisses, and persuasion. While decorating the tree together, Jiwoo and Soojin had their pacifiers in their mouths—clipped to their shirts—while Miyeong had her blanket strapped to her shoulders like a superhero cape.
The children carried the ornaments and helped their mothers put them on the tree, but most of the time they preferred to line up the decorations on the floor and form circles before Zoey and Rumi needed a new ornament. They were having fun amidst giggles, competing with each other to see who could deliver the most decorations to their mothers and trying to put some up on their own as well.
The children's giggles and chatter echoed throughout the penthouse, warming the mothers' hearts. Mira could hear them too, already putting the finishing touches on the little gingerbread houses, smiling fondly as she heard her daughters' soft voices and her wives' beautiful laughter. Her back might ache after so many hours focused on that work, but all the effort was worth it for her princesses.
Especially because it'd brought huge smiles to the little girls' faces when they saw what their mommy had prepared for them. Mira received hugs and kisses, smiling every time one of the children took a candy from the roof of one of the little houses to offer it to her.
The room was filled with joy as the jelly beans and M&Ms scattered across the roofs were quickly devoured, followed closely by their gingerbread animals, but the mothers made sure not to let the children eat too much. Rumi distracted them from the sugary chaos while Mira tidied up the room, leaving Zoey in charge of the candy—or more importantly the disposal of the candy.
Zoey was so sugar-high by the end of the day that they had more trouble putting her to sleep that night than the triplets.
There were very few things Bobby wouldn't do for his girls. Especially since the family had grown and three adorable little girls had joined them.
So the moment Zoey had asked him to wear that red and white outfit, put on a fake white beard and a fake wig with a hat on top, he obviously said yes.
A little mortified? Maybe. But completely in favor. He was incapable of refusing anything when Zoey asked with eyes shining with expectation.
Now there he was, with a red sack in his hands, scattering footprints around the girls' penthouse—he would smear his boots with flour to give a snowy effect with every step. They had asked him to come into the house and make as little noise as possible, leave the girls' toys under the tree, and then open their bedroom door whispering the classic "ho, ho, ho" before leaving to enjoy his Christmas with his boyfriend.
As soon as he opened their bedroom door and whispered according to Zoey's plan, just seeing Jiwoo lift her little face and look at him with half-closed sleepy eyes was enough for Bobby to know that the mission was complete; now he just needed to leave before the triplets decided to chase after him. He would surely wish his girls a Merry Christmas after taking off the Santa Claus costume. He just needed to make sure the triplets wouldn't accidentally recognize him first.
On that morning of December 25th, Zoey, Mira, and Rumi woke up early to prepare breakfast for the family. They were feeling a bit tired, and Mira was quite grumpy, but the memories of their daughters' smiles the previous day gave them enough fuel to gather the courage to cook so early.
Last evening, Mira had safely placed Miyeong on her shoulders so she could put the star on top of the Christmas tree. Now each of the triplets had a photo performing this same ritual. The house was already perfectly decorated, everything so colorful and cozy.
They had prepared dinner and their Christmas cake together. The triplets had helped as much as possible with their little hands, whether it was cracking eggs or eating the fruit that had been set aside to decorate the cake. Mira laughed every time a tiny hand stole another strawberry from the counter before tiptoeing away as if she had completed a theft unnoticed. Adorable, simply.
Little Soojin had been the most eager to help. She had sat on the counter near Mira and Zoey, asking questions about the ingredients and handing over everything her mothers asked for.
While they had been cooking, Rumi was in charge of keeping Jiwoo out of trouble and keeping Miyeong comfortable. They hadn’t wanted Christmas Eve to be marked by any crying fits; they were determined to make their three daughters happy and have fun. Rumi had taken the two to read a book near the tree, then let them watch a few episodes of Bluey, convincing Soojin to take a break to have fun with her sisters too.
They were happy. And that was all that mattered.
And that morning, they whispered about memories of the past few days, recalling all the lovely things their daughters had done and how happy they had been during the holiday. Amid the soft sounds of chopping vegetables and spoons clattering against pots, Zoey would steal a few kisses now and then, Mira would come up behind them to hug them and rest her chin on their shoulders, and Rumi would lay her head on one of their shoulders and rub her face there. The three were immersed in that bubble, oblivious to their surroundings, only noticing that Bobby had already gone in and out of the penthouse when the baby monitor sent an alert to Zoey's phone.
"Oh my god, Bobby's already left their room, look!" Zoey jumped up and down as she held the phone close to her wives' faces. Too close. Rumi smiled, gently holding Zoey's wrist and pulling the screen away from her eyes, able to see the three little girls sitting together on Miyeong's bed, seemingly conversing.
"You can go see them, I'll finish breakfast," Mira offered, but Zoey turned to her with a completely offended expression.
"Don't you dare!" She turned off all the burners on the stove instantly. "The food can wait! I want to see them opening their presents!"
Zoey grabbed Mira's wrist and tried to pull her along, but she stared at the stove, apprehensive, stubborn.
"But—"
"No buts!" Rumi joined Zoey, pulling Mira's other wrist amidst smiles, and together they dragged her into the hallway of their daughters' room.
Usually, as soon as the triplets woke up and realized they were alone in their room, they used to run around the house looking for some fun until their mothers noticed they were awake. Other days they would go straight to their mothers' room for some good snuggles.
But that morning the three stopped running and gasped as soon as they opened the bedroom door.
Wow.
Little eyes sparkled with awe as they followed the trail of snowy footprints. They walked slowly, hand in hand, following the footprints to the Christmas tree they had decorated with their mothers the day before.
Jiwoo was the first to run to the tree, finding presents underneath. Last night, before they had gone to sleep, there had only been six presents there, the ones Nana Celine had sent. Their mothers had allowed them to open it, and they had enjoyed playing with their new toys until bedtime. But now there were even more presents for them!
The three of them had their mouths open in surprise as they stared at the tree. Soojin and Jiwoo whispered to each other about having heard Santa Claus arriving home while they were sleeping, and Miyeong took small steps closer to the tree, following the footprints.
Miyeong looked around and quickly found her mothers there in the living room, waving to them from afar, but preferred to stay close to her sisters.
Mira and Rumi gazed at the little ones, their eyes filled with tears, radiating happiness at seeing their daughters so surprised, talking amongst themselves about having heard Santa Claus and those footprints undoubtedly belonging to him. They were creating memories of a Christmas that would surely stay with them forever.
Zoey was in charge of recording these memories, capturing the triplets' reactions from the moment she heard their bedroom door open. She was extremely happy with herself for having planned that little surprise for her daughters.
That was exactly what all three of them had wanted since the moment their daughters were born.
To give each of them a warm and loving home. A place where they would feel happy and create good memories. Where they would always be safe and have a good childhood.
Zoey stopped recording shortly after her daughters began opening their presents, satisfied to have recorded their reactions to the surprise, now more interested in experiencing the moment. It wasn't worth focusing only on recordings if her heart wouldn't warm when she watched them, if she only remembered being behind her phone recording it instead of going to her daughters to hug and shower them with kisses.
"Aww, look at them!" Zoey rested her chin on Rumi's shoulder, hugging her wife from behind.
"They're so happy." Rumi melted into her arms, completely relaxing and pulling Mira into the hug as well.
"I love them," Mira whispered, her voice restrained, sounding like she wanted to cry. Zoey and Rumi didn't comment on it; perhaps they would start crying too.
The little girls were sitting on the ground near the tree now, each slowly opening a present. Jiwoo and Soojin were tearing open the wrapping paper haphazardly, while Miyeong's little hands searched for ribbons and slowly pulled the paper. Always so calm.
Rumi and Mira remained there, dumbfoundedly watching their daughters find their presents. The wrapping paper was chosen with the girls’ colors in mind, so they would know which gift belonged to whom. The triplets were already used to receiving presents wrapped in lilac, light pink, and blue, and they knew exactly which one to pick from under the tree to find their toy.
Soojin obviously got a new dinosaur—an Indominus Rex, with a button that made it roar and glow green. She murmured a "Sick" and bobbed her head up and down, eliciting giggles from her mothers. The little one had been obsessed with dinosaurs ever since she had discovered them a year ago.
Jiwoo received several coloring books and new markers, opening all the lids at the same time and testing the colors on the nearest wall. Because obviously she couldn't have used the coloring books. It had to be the walls. The walls they had painted the previous month because they were already covered in paint, marker, and pencil marks.
But it was Christmas. And they are three mama bears completely doting on their daughters. So they just chuckled softly and swayed their heads from side to side.
Miyeong got two plushies. One of Bingo, one of Bluey. She held up her presents, speechless, and then hugged them both, rubbing her face against them and smelling them.
The three then proceeded to exchange toys, each showing the other what they got, saying that Santa Claus nailed it and how much they loved the presents.
Zoey was so engrossed in watching her daughters play that she momentarily forgot something she had wanted to do all week. But the moment she squeezed Rumi a little tighter in the hug and kissed her on the shoulder, a lightbulb went off in her head. How could she have forgotten the best tradition of all?
She fumbled in her pockets for the mistletoe; she hadn't had enough time to hang it around the house, but nothing prevented her from completing her plan with the weapons she had at that moment. Therefore, she positioned herself between her wives, invading their embrace with a mischievous smile.
Rumi and Mira stared at her from there, stepping back slightly to give her space, and Zoey almost forgot her plan when she received those sweet and passionate glances, but fortunately, she had the mistletoe in her hand. She raised it and waved it in front of her wives' gaze, wagging her eyebrows suggestively.
"Does this tradition still count if the mistletoe is fake?" Rumi teased, but planted a kiss on her cheek nonetheless.
"Hey! Tradition is tradition!" Zoey pointed out, proudly displaying the mistletoe towards Mira now, already tilting her face closer to her, standing on tiptoe.
"Hm, I don't know, I guess it only counts if it's a real one." Mira shrugged, looking away from her wife and waiting.
Zoey didn't take long to give Mira exactly what she wanted.
She was about to stomp her foot like a spoiled child and complain about Mira's audacity in ignoring that tradition.
And Mira chose that exact moment to kiss her. She gently took Zoey's wrist, pulled her close, and sealed her lips to hers.
Zoey smiled at the kiss, completely melting, quickly moving her free hand to Mira's nape, caressing her undercut. Rumi hugged Zoey from behind, sandwiching her between them, and gave her another little kiss, this time on her earlobe.
Rumi remained watching them kiss, feeling giddy simply for being there with them. And soon she had a reason to feel even more giddy as Zoey and Mira broke the kiss just to include her. A three-way kiss that they always managed to fit.
They were increasingly lost in the moment as they gently caressed each other. Rumi kept one hand on Zoey's waist and the other on Mira's, pulling them both closer.
But they quickly snapped back to reality when they heard a little scream coming from the living room.
"Mommy!"
Soojin's hurried little steps accompanied her calls as she went to her mothers, the dinosaur tucked under one arm, little eyes staring at her mothers.
"Mommy kisses!" A small index finger was pointed in their direction, and Mira was the first to laugh.
"Yeah princess, Mommy was kissing Omma and Mami."
"Kiss SooSoo too Mommy! Up!" She raised both little arms without even thinking about the dinosaur that had just fallen to the ground with a loud thud. Zoey grimaced, but waved it off quickly. Giving Soojin kisses was certainly more important at the moment; they could teach her a little more about taking care of toys later. Mira held the bean in her arms and gave her a kiss on the cheek, which was promptly returned by the little girl.
"Merry Christmas, aegi," Mira whispered, hugging her a little tightly. Soojin groaned, but hugged her back with all the strength her little hands could muster.
"Merry Christmas, princess," Rumi and Zoey wished together, both approaching their daughter and giving her kisses. Soojin smiled and swung her little legs.
Miyeong and Jiwoo wanted kisses and hugs too, each running to their mothers with huge smiles on their faces. Rumi and Zoey lifted them off the ground, also smiling, giving them kisses on their cheeks and wishing them a Merry Christmas.
"Mewwy Chismas Momma!" Jiwoo wished with her little arms raised in the air, but soon hugged Rumi's neck tightly.
"Merry Christmas sweetheart, I love you sooo much," Rumi hugged her back, gently stroking her daughter's back.
"I luuuuv you Mami!" Miyeong said, giving Zoey little kisses, plushies of Bluey and Bingo joining their embrace.
"I love you too, Mimi," Zoey planted a kiss on the little girl's crown, squeezing her as tightly as she could in the hug.
Mira, Rumi and Zoey went to the couch with their daughters in their arms.
The triplets soon began to recount Santa's visit, showing the presents they had received.
And right then and there they knew they were exactly where they always wanted to be, so grateful to be the reason behind those smiles and those beautiful memories.
No matter how tired they were after that busy week making sure their daughters had the perfect Christmas. There, seeing these smiles and the excitement shining in their little eyes, they were certain that every little effort would always be worth it if it meant their daughters' happiness.