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“Hyoga, that’s way too much chocolate chips, put some back into the bag.”
The youngest child’s head immediately perked up, ears reddening at his father’s scolds while the other boy giggled next to him. He immediately started scooping back the chips from the bowl with a small spoon under his father’s watchful gaze.
“Papa, can you help me reach the butter please?”
Camus nodded as he approached his elder son struggling to reach the highest parts of the fridge and took out a stick of butter before placing it into his waiting hands, watching him hurry back next to his brother to continue their recipe.
He looked outside the window to the snowy road. The sun had almost fully set and the lights had started to dim, they’d have to turn the lights on soon. Being in early December they didn’t get that much sun light anymore and the temperatures had dropped considerably, even with Greece’s usual warmth, allowing the landscape to lay under a pretty thick layer of powdery snow, which had overjoyed the boys. It didn’t take much to Isaac to convince his younger brother to come play outside with their sleds and it had quickly degenerated after the first snow ball was thrown. Camus never ended up figuring out which one of his sons had thrown the first one but after a warm bath the two freezing boys were revigorated and ready to go again but thankfully, Camus managed to convince them to have a calmer activity inside as the sunlight had started to disappear behind the horizon already. That’s when Hyoga proposed his idea of making cookies to surprise their dad with when he'd come back from work in a few hours. With Isaac’s help, he managed to convince their father under the condition that they wouldn’t eat too many, especially just before bedtime.
“Papa! Isaac threw flour at me!
-That’s not true!”
Camus was brought back to reality by his sons’ screams and sighed as he helped the youngest clean up the flour spots on the clothes not covered by his apron.
“Isaac, be nice with your brother.
-He started it!
-I did not!”
The boys quickly stopped their petty fight under their father’s stern gaze and apologized before going back to their respective tasks. The man approached the youngest, in charge of measuring the ingredients and helped him break the eggs, carefully showing him each step and rewarding him with a ruffle of his hair when he got it right on his second try. Isaac put down the butter he had melted next to his brother’s ingredients. Camus brought the youngest’s stool closer so he could watch better as he carefully put each ingredient in his big bowl with his sons’ help. He finished mixing the dough and placed the tray down on the counter with a sheet of cooking paper. He then started showing the boys how to make portions of the right size and lined them down on the tray. They quickly got the hang of it and Camus supervised them as they finished filling the tray. Hyoga eyed the still half-filled bowl before looking up at his father.
“Papa, there’s still dough left!
-We’re gonna need to make multiple batches then, we’re gonna have a lot of cookies, responded Camus matter-of-factly.”
The boys backed away by a few steps as their father approached the oven with the tray in his hands, carefully placing it inside to bake. He then took out his phone to set a timer. The boys approached the oven and watched the tray through the glass door. Camus watched them fondly for a moment before starting to clean up the mess they had made. Isaac quickly looked at his father before joining him, dragging his brother away from the oven along the way. With their reunited efforts, the kitchen looked brand new in an instant, apart from the bowl of leftover dough. As Camus put down the last utensil he heard the timer go off on the counter behind him before the youngest excitedly turned it off and impatiently waited for his father to take out the cookies and putting them to cool down on the counter. Camus shooed away impatient hands trying to grab the still burning hot cookies.
“Be careful, it’s very hot. We have to wait a bit to allow them to cool down before eating them or you’ll get burnt.”
The boys nodded sagely as their father took out a new sheet of cooking paper. They quickly filled it up with the rest of the dough then put it back in the oven for the second batch.
A few minutes passed by before they were all proudly admiring their hard work, a pile of golden brown cookies sitting on the counter with a divine smell. The boys looked at their father with a bright smile while he ruffled their hair and congratulated them. A few instants later the noise of a car entering the driveway could be heard. Both boys jumped to the window to watch as their father got out of the car.
“Dad’s home!”
They ran to the door as soon as it opened and jumped in their father’s arms. Camus approached the trio to free his husband from their boys’ never ending energy.
“Welcome home Milo.”
The Greek flashed a bright smile at his husband followed by a quick kiss, interrupted by the boys’ loud “ew”. Milo laughed at their sons’ behavior before looking around the kitchen in awe.
“It smells incredible in here, what happened?
-We made cookies!”, the boys exclaimed in unison before running off towards the plate to proudly show their father their accomplishment. They both started excitedly telling him about their day, Milo seemingly never getting tired of their antics listening and chiming in every now and then with questions or exclamations while leading them out of the kitchen so his husband could get started on dinner in peace. Camus smiled, appreciating the newfound silence after a long day. He truly loved his sons but they were quite overstimulating sometimes. Thankfully, his husband always understood his needs and took over whenever it got too much. He truly was lucky to have such a perfect family.
He looked at the clock and decided to make them a quick but warm meal. The sun had long set now, early hours of the night creeping in through the now dark window. As he started steering the pasta he felt a pair of arms circling his waist and he leaned against his lover’s chest. He felt Milo’s warm breath against his ear, both enjoying their quiet time together before Camus broke the silence and tilted his head slightly towards his husband.
“How was your day mon amour?
-Pretty slow today I’ll admit, I wanted to go home the whole afternoon, sighed the Greek.
-I’m glad you’re home then. Where did the boys go?
-They’re still in the living room. They’re drawing the snowman they want to build tomorrow.”
Camus turned around to face his husband and finally kissed him. Milo held him closer, a hand against his waist and the other running through his long hair. They broke apart shortly after, Camus laying his head against his husband’s chest, closing his eyes and listening to his heartbeat as the world around them disappeared for a moment. He looked up a few moments later to see Milo smiling like an idiot. He snorted and kissed him on the cheek before breaking free from his embrace and went back to making dinner. He heard Milo laugh as he left the room, presumably going back to watch over their boys.
Camus could only smile again.