After another few minutes, the kids had a few toys around them to play, and the pile was placed near the stairs to take up. Alex sighed and turned back to the tree. “Now we can open Papa, Daddy, and Uncle presents!”
Kenji watched all of the exchanging, settling back and not expecting anything—but Cryss handed him two boxes. One from Alex and Cryss and one from the kids. “Oh, you guys didn’t need to get me anything.”
“Why not? You got something for us,” Alex said, showing a box.
Kenji eyed Qylar as Cryss returned to the tree. “I got them something?” he whispered.
“We did,” Qylar replied.
“You shouldn’t have included me. But thank you.”
“Next year, you’ll know them better and can contribute ideas,” Qylar murmured. He pressed a kiss to Kenji’s forehead. “I’ll be right back.”
Alex laid two gifts on the seat where Qylar had just been sitting. Kenji slid the small present he’d ordered at the last minute from his robe pocket and slid it under the other two. It was almost more a joke than a gift, but even with a million dollars in the bank, he wasn’t great at spending money frivolously.
The scent of coffee filled his nose, and he sighed with delight.
Qylar reappeared a few minutes later with two mugs in his hand. He glanced at Alex and Cryss as he passed. “Made a pot.”
“You’re a god, Q,” Cryss said before heading to the kitchen.
Qylar handed him a mug that had a string hanging out of it.
“Tea?”
“You’re pregnant,” Qylar said, grinning.
Kenji whimpered but took the mug. He tried a sip and had to admit, it wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t a delicious cup of coffee, either.
Once Cryss returned with cups for him and Alex, it was explained that they went one by one and everyone opened their gifts. The kids did theirs first. They got an outfit each, socks, a toy, and a book. Kenji had to smile. He’d thought the kids were being spoiled rotten, but Alex was clearly not going to allow his kids to be turned into entitled brats.
He needed to take notes, as the man was a genius.
After the kids, Alex turned to him. “Okay, Kenji—as the newest adult here, you go first.”
Kenji sunk in on himself, not accustomed to gift-giving or receiving. “I’ll give it a go.”
He opened the first from the kids and smiled when he found an assortment—a bag of trail mix and a cocoa mix the kids made themselves, homemade cookies, and a drawing each child made of him.
“Those arereallysweet, thoughtful gifts,” Kenji said, hugging both kids. “Thank you so much.”
“Yummy cookies,” Ael said, waggling his eyebrows.
“That’s Ael speak for—if you don’t like those cookies, he will be happy to take care of them for you.”
Kenji chuckled. “I’ll let you know later, Ael.”
Ael waggled his brows some more.
The next gift from Alex and Cryss had a nice, thick robe and a leather-bound journal in it.
“I highly suggest you write downallthe weird pregnancy things that happen and when—likebe thorough—because they do not have a playbook for us half-humans yet. If you decide to have another down the road, it might be a lifesaver,” Alex said. “None of my pregnancies have been exactly the same, but there were a lot of similarities. Reading my old notes helped me sometimes, if I was feeling nervous about something.”
“Good idea,” Kenji said. “I’ve already got some things to add. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Alex replied.
“How did you know he planned to keep them?” Qylar asked Alex.
