Surprise
Chapter 15: Surprise
“Babe, wake up.”
Ira was laying on her stomach with her face close to Tawan’s and her finger poking her cheek. She had barely slept, mostly spending her time holding Tawan and running her fingers through her hair as she reminisced about her time in Paris. Her excitement got the best of her, and she had to force herself to take a small nap to have some energy to greet her children when they woke up in a few hours.
So, Ira decided to wield her power of surprising her family with an early return by using their excitement for her own selfish needs.
“Baaabe,” Ira whined gently, pouting some.
“Huh?” Tawan said groggily as her eyes half opened. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Ira laughed softly and rubbed her knuckle across her cheek. “I just want you to wake up and spend some time with me.”
Tawan yawned then turned her head to her, a sleepy smile starting to spread across her face at the sight of her. She reached up and ran the back of her fingers along her jaw and cheek before reaching down to hold her hand between them. Ira smiled as she used her other hand to prop her head up to get a better look at her, eyes sparkling so early in the morning with adoration.
Tawan turned her head from her to yawn again then sat up a little more against her pillows.
“I’m glad I wasn’t dreaming,” she said and brought her hand up to kiss. “Did you get some sleep?”
“No,” Ira answered.
“Ira,” Tawan groaned in warning and darted her eyes to her. “You need to rest or you’ll get sick or something.”
“I got plenty on the plane and a few more just now,” Ira placated as she played with her fingers. “How can I sleep and I just got home to you guys?”
“How much fun will you be if you are exhausted from your trip then got sick?” Tawan challenged knowingly, raising an eyebrow the same.
“Well, maybe you can help with that,” she said, maneuvering their joined hands so she could snuggle into her side. “I can think of a few ways to help me fall asleep.”
Tawan stared down at her, both looking between lips and eyes. “I have to start getting the kids and myself ready for school and work,” she reminded, trying to control the urge to lean down and kiss her.
Ira, staring at her lips, leaned up some. “About that? Call in,” she demanded, smiling wickedly.
“Call in?" Tawan laughed and looked away. “The consultant just started and Tek is still coming into the office. What would it look like if I called in?”
“Like nothing because you are sick,” she supplied and grabbed her chin to make her look at her. “Yeah, you look a little flushed and your skin is a little hot.”
“That’s because you want morning sex,” Tawan muttered mostly to herself and tried to look away again.
“And you don’t?” Ira challenged, a firm grip on her chin.
Tawan stared down at her, and a millisecond before she was about to give in, she turned her head again. Ira knew she could play this game a lot longer than her and win, especially when Tawan’s brown eyes darkened like they always did when her shoulders or back was exposed to reveal her milky skin. As much as she loved to tease her wife, Ira knew they had limited time before their children woke up and consumed her attention.
“We only have a little time before the kids wake up,” Ira reminded her in a breathy tone, sitting up some more. “Did you not miss me?”
Ira worked her best charm and skills by pouting and looking up at Tawan with the puppy dog eyes that always made her fold to her will. Tawan groaned and tried to look away again, but Ira’s firm grip on her chin held her in place. Instead, she rolled her eyes and settled them past her head so she could try to maintain her composure.
But the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to give in. The last place she wanted to be was at work when Ira made all this effort to surprise them with an early return.
“You know I missed you,” Tawan sighed in defeat and looked to her.
“Call in for me then,” Ira smiled innocently, now holding her jaw as she stared at her lips.
Tawan pursed her lips in thought, taking what felt like minutes but was only seconds to ponder her request. Ira was anxiously waiting on her response, knowing this was a long shot because Tawan was very responsible when it came to work. She started to feel guilty for peer pressuring her, so as she opened her mouth to tell her to forget it, Tawan reached her hand back and grabbed her cellphone from the nightstand.
She slid her thumb across the screen a few times then showed Ira as she typed an email to the office that she was taking a sick day.
“Really?!” Ira said giddily and she sat up to hug her around her neck.
“I love you more,” Tawan chuckled and rubbed her back. “I missed you.”
“That was the longest we were away from each other,” Ira agreed, pulling back to peck her lips a few times. “Are you sure, though? I was only half joking and I don’t want to pressu-,”
“Stop,” she told her, smiling and pressing a finger to her lips. “I meant what I said about working less and being with you all more.”
Ira smiled against her finger then kissed it before removing it to then kiss the back of her fingers. Though she had only been gone for almost ten days, it seemed a lot had changed during her time away. Both women began to think that this needed to happen to get them to where they were now - so much clarity and motivation to make necessary changes that benefited their family.
Ira wanted to contribute more financially to their family and Tawan wanted to commit more time to their family.
“What did you want to do?” Tawan asked, resting her head against the headboard. “Me and the kids had a few ideas.”
Ira smiled softly as she watched her yawn again. “Let’s do them all,” she told her.
Tawan smiled around another yawn. “Absolutely,” she said and winked at her.
“But first…,” Ira whispered and snuggled back into her side. “Show me how much you missed me.”
“Ira,” Tawan warned through gritted teeth, eyes piercing hers. “They’ll be up soon.”
“Then we better hurry up,” she smiled and leaned up to nuzzle her neck.
Tawan licked her lips and closed her eyes as Ira’s lips trailed wet kisses along her neck. Ira did not want her to try to escape so she held her in place by her neck and could feel her pulse racing. Tawan gripped her waist tightly, squeezing every time she hit a certain spot, afraid that she would leave a bruise on her hip. She was starting to squirm with each kiss, so she raised her other hand up to grip Ira’s wrist to anchor herself back to earth.
“I’ll stop teasing you when you take control.”
Tawan pulled her hand away and forced her down on her back as soon as the words left her mouth. Ira giggled as she moved to lay on top of her to kiss her before moving to hover over her and look down at her. She smiled up at her, desire emanating from her like body heat as she tried to convey both her longing in her eyes and her excitement and anticipation in her smile.
Tawan smiled back down to her but her eyes were roaming for where to start first which made Ira’s stomach flip at how she always somehow managed to match her passion. She started to slowly lean down and Ira’s breath hitched in her chest, eyes closing at the heat of her breath near her ear.
“Welcome back,” Tawan whispered before attacking her neck.
Ira’s back arched and their bodies touched, a moan escaping her as Tawan’s teeth found her shoulder.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Star,” Sammy whispered, standing beside her bed.
It was a past 8 AM when Sammy woke up to use the bathroom. As he headed the short distance from his bed to there, he noticed there was a lot more daylight outside pouring through their bedroom window than there normally was when he got up to get ready for school during the week. In fact, to him, it looked more like the weekend sunlight coming through the window - extra bright - like when he would get to sleep in until around 9AM before his parents woke him and his sister up for breakfast.
That was what prompted him to wake his sister up to ask her if it was actually Saturday and not Friday. He would have went down the hall to ask his mother, but he figured that she would have woken them up to get ready for school by now like she always did. Star was starting to stir out of her sleep, always the heaviest sleeper out of the two of therm, and she yawned and stretched with only one eye open.
“What, Sammy?” She whispered back, scratching her cheek.
“Why didn’t Momma wake us up for school?” He asked and pointed towards their window. “See? There's a lot of sun out there now. And the numbers on my desk clock says 8-4-1. We always leave for school when the numbers on the stove clock says 7-3-0.”
Star yawned again and sat up some. “I don’t know,” she replied tiredly, rubbing her eyes.
Sammy scratched the back of his head. “We should wake her up. Maybe she forgot,” he determined.
“You know Mommy said not to wake Momma up,” Star reminded, a warning look for added effect.
“But Momma didn’t say we weren’t going to school yesterday,” he continued.
“Sammy, go back to bed,” she ordered and laid back down, covering herself and turning her back to him.
Sammy’s brows furrowed and he thought about going alone to his parents room to wake Tawan up.
For a brief moment, he even debated about going to the kitchen and making himself some cereal to eat as he watched cartoons in the living room. If he was going to miss school then he wanted to get a head start on some fun activities to not waste the rare opportunity. Usually, the only time he missed school was for doctors appointments, and since he was not warned ahead of time of having to go to one, he figured he was in the clear.
Now, curiosity was getting the best of him as to why their mother had not woken them up for school. Let alone, her need to be at work.
“I’m going to wake Momma up,” Sammy said to no one in particular.
“You’re going to get in trouble,” Star squeaked as she sat up more wide awake. “You know we’re not supposed to wake Momma up.”
“What if Momma was too tired and forgot?” Sammy questioned as he opened the door.
“Sammy,” Star groaned and kicked her covers off. “Momma doesn’t forget anything.”
“Well, I’ll go make sure,” he stated and headed out.
“Sammy!” She half whispered and half yelled, hopping out of bed.
Star was the oldest, so she always had this natural inclination to keep her brother in line while also protecting him. Though she had no real fears for repercussions for waking Tawan up, she had this innate belief in following instructions - something that came along with her ability to be easily coachable in sports even if stubborn and impatient about certain things. Not only that, she promised Ira that she would help out while she was gone, and she intended to keep that promise to make her mother proud.
Just as Sammy had reached his parents door to knock, Star inserted herself between him and the door. She put her finger up to her lips just as he opened his mouth to protest, and she grabbed his wrist to lead him back to their bedroom. Sammy started to pull away just as they heard some muffled sounds on the other side of the door. They both turned to it then each other, raising their eyebrows inquisitively.
Star took a moment to think as Sammy widened his eyes and pointed towards the door in concern.
“Shhh,” she whispered to him, pressing her finger back to her lips while still holding his wrist. “I’ll do it.”
Sammy nodded and watched her as she turned back to the door and squared her shoulders. He always knew how lucky he was to have Star as his sister because she always did the brave things for him. She never made him feel like he was a burden or annoying except only when they were competing in soccer together like any competitive sibling would.
In the end, they would always have each other’s backs and would love each other through everything just like their parents had instilled in them.
“Momma?” Star asked, knocking softly and leaning closer to the door.
There was a sound from behind the door that sounded like someone yelping. Star looked to Sammy, who had heard the same thing, then they both looked back to the door. They heard what sounded like footsteps and then Tawan’s voice asking them if everything was okay. Sammy then piped up and asked why they were not at school to which Star said she did not care to know why they were not at school in hopes it stayed that way.
“Come in, guys,” Tawan’s muffled laughed came from the other side.
Star opened the door, but made no move to enter as she felt that if she did then Tawan would tell her to go get ready for school. Tawan was seated on the edge of the bed on Ira’s side, smiling at them as she raked her hand through her messy hair. She patted the spots next to her for them to come in and sit. Sammy, who was playing with his fingers as he waited, immediately headed over to her and hopped up on the bed beside her.
“Momma, your shirt is inside out,” Sammy told her, pointing at the tag on her side. “You were really sleepy.”
Tawan laughed nervously. “Y-yeah, I was,” she said and ran her hand through her hair again.
Sammy tugged on the tag then looked back up to her and smiled. She smiled down to him as she put a hand to the back of his head and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
The last week and a half with Tawan made him more clingy to her than usual, and not only because Ira was not there. He always held a high admiration for Tawan because she always had the ability to make him feel mighty and strong like when she would put him on her shoulders and run around the yard to make him feel like a superhero.
“Did you sleep good, my darling boy?” She asked him and scratched the back of his head.
Sammy nodded enthusiastically and she chuckled before leaning down to kiss his nose. She looked back to the doorway, her eyes glancing at the open door briefly, then to her daughter who was still standing there as if she was being tested for some reason. Tawan laughed and motioned for her to come in and sit on the other side of her.
Star raised her foot, hesitating for a second, then headed over to jump up next to them.
“Did you sleep good, my princess?” Tawan asked her, hugging them both to her sides.
“Until Sammy woke me up,” Star answered, a little annoyed.
“I just wanted to check on Momma,” he argued again, pouting his bottom lip at her. He looked like Tawan when she playfully glared at Ira which made her laugh.
“Alright, alright,” Tawan said, squeezing them to her. “It’s okay. Thank you for checking on me.”
“Why are we not at school? And why are you not at work?” Sammy asked, tilting his head up to her.
“It’s already too late to go to school,” Star interjected quickly, eyeing him to be quiet.
“Oh, really?” Tawan asked as she bit back her amusement.
“Yep,” she answered and shrugged her shoulders. “We can go to Maa and Papa’s if you have to go to work.”
“Yeah,” Sammy agreed, nodding enthusiastically.
“So, you don’t want to hang out with your old Momma, huh?” Tawan asked, feigning hurt. They both giggled at her antics and she tickled their sides making them laugh.
“I want to stay home with you, Momma,” Star told her and hugged her side.
“Yeah! Me, too,” Sammy chimed in and raised his hand.
“Okay,” Tawan said and kissed the top of their heads. “What if someone else joins us?”
The twins looked up at her quizzically as they racked their brains for who.
“Like Maa and Papa?” Star asked, deep in thought.
“Or YaYa and Po?” Sammy asked.
“No, my precious babies,” Tawan chuckled and ran her hand down the back of their heads. “Someone else.”
Star looked to Sammy and he looked back at her just as confusedly, both of them shrugging at the same time to each other. Tawan bit down her amusement, their twin telepathy never ceasing to amaze her, then she snuck a glance back to her open bedroom door. She saw the tips of Ira’s fingers as she held it in place to hide behind.
They did not have time to properly hide her - they barely had time to throw their clothes back on to avoid scarring their children.
“Close your eyes,” Tawan instructed and placed a hand over them for extra assurance.
Star and Sammy started getting giddy with excitement at their mother’s antics. They were bouncing a little in their seats in anticipation because the last time Tawan did this they took a trip to the beach as a family. She had covered their eyes while Ira pulled a beach ball from behind the couch to show them after asking them to guess where they were taking a trip to.
They had no idea what the surprise could be this time.
“Surprise!”
Tawan removed her hands and the twins eyes adjusted to Ira standing by the door with her arms wide open and the biggest, open mouthed smile. It took just a split second for it to register that their other mother was standing right in front of them, but as soon as the air cleared they both jumped off the bed. They ran to her screaming “Mommy!” as they launched themselves in to her arms, knocking her on her butt as they clamored on her for hugs and kisses.
Tawan laughed at the sight and clasped her hands together as she observed them.
“Mommy, why are you back already?” Star asked and played with her hair.
“Mommy, can we go watch the Minons movie?” Sammy asked excitedly, clinging to her neck.
“One at a time. One at a time,” Tawan told them, smiling as she stood from the bed.
“I missed you guys so I came back a little early,” Ira answered then pressed long kisses to their cheeks. “And yes. We are going to go watch the Minions movie.”
“Yay!” Sammy cheered and hugged her.
“We have some other things to do, too,” Star quipped and looked to Tawan. “Right, Momma?”
“That’s right, baby,” Tawan nodded, crossing her arms. “I told Mommy all about them.”
“Which means you guys need to go get ready,” Ira told them and looked between them with a loving smile. “We have a big day planned.”
The twins cheered, and before Ira let them go, she hugged them back to her tightly for a moment then kissed their heads.
They stood to run out of the room to get ready, not needing any more push, but Sammy had just reached the door when he turned back around and launched himself at Ira again for a bear hug, wrapping his legs around her waist. Ira squeezed him close, tears starting to form at the corner of her eyes at both how he was as sensitive as her and how much she missed hugging him. He planted a loud kiss on her cheek then disentangled himself to run back to his room to get ready.
Tawan smiled as she walked over to her and extended both of her hands down to her to help her up off the floor. Ira smiled back as she grabbed her hands and Tawan hoisted her up with ease to then pull her into a hug. With her arms wrapped around her waist, she lifted her up just a bit to spin her around before setting her back down, eliciting a small giggle from her.
Ira grabbed her face and looked into her eyes before leaning in to give her a long kiss.
“I would have died if they had opened that door before knocking,” Ira mumbled against her lips.
They both bursted into laughter as they mentally wiped at their brow nervously at almost getting caught in a very compromising position.