50. You and Me, Me and You

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I had just put the twins down for their morning-near afternoon nap, and It had already been over an hour. Cristiano, though he said he would, didn't get here yet. Another hour went by and he still wasn't there.

I went up to see if the twins were still sleeping, which they were, and I looked at my watch that I got for Christmas that said 'wifey', which Cristiano had a matching one to say 'hubby'. It was nearly one o'clock and he was supposed to be here hours ago. Like he said he would.

I sighed in annoyance and headed downstairs into the kitchen to get my Oreos and some milk, and when I went into the living room, I stopped. His eyes met mine and he grinned slightly. "Hey, bellezza."

I didn't smile. "Hey." I sat down on the couch, a good distance away from him. I turned on the TV and put it on How I Met Your Mother. "You been here long?"

"I just got here like five minutes ago." He said, as if his happy tone would possibly take my annoyance away from him.

"Great." I set my glass of milk on the coffee table and turned up the volume of the show.

"Harlow." He sighed apologetically. I turned the volume up higher and I knew it annoyed him. "Harlow..." He called again and I ignored him.

He reached over and snatched the remote for me, muting the TV. I glared at him. "Give it back."

"No. Harlow—" I tried to take it from him but he held it up high. I stood on my knees to take it but he outstretched his arm to hold it far away from him. I placed my hand on his shoulder to reach for it, but he threw it across the room and his arms snaked around my waist to hold me.

"Fine. What do you want?" I huffed.

"Let's talk." He said with a frown.

"No, you're just going to apologize. Apologies don't change anything. It doesn't make me any less pissed at you. You said you'd be here in 45 minutes. It's been nearly three hours, Cristiano. Even if I'd never said anything, I bet you would've probably missed dinner too. You always miss dinner." I breathed, pushing on his chest to make him let me go.

He kept a tight hold on me and gazed into my eyes sadly. His hand cupped my face as his thumb caressed my cheek and I looked down. "I know. And I apologize sincerely. I got caught at the conference and you just happened to call me in the middle of something really important. I have someone taking notes for me so I could leave. Let's spend the rest of the day together." He lifted my chin to make me look him in the eyes.

His ocean blue eyes were so sincere and sorry, and I couldn't help but be mad at him a little less. "With me, or the kids too?"

"All three. And then, if you'd like, we could have a night just to ourselves." He smiled.

I failed a suppressed smile. "Do you know how long it's been since we've been alone for more than an hour?"

"Too long. And I want to make it up to you. Because what's happening with us is my fault, and it's my job to be a good dad and a good husband."

I rested my forehead onto his. "I never said you weren't. You do your job great enough." I kissed his lips assuringly. "Gotta go see if they're awake yet." I whispered, moving away from him to go upstairs.

He followed me up and into the nursery, and Rosaria, like this morning, was standing up and holding on to the bars of the crib. She bounced a little seeing Cristiano for the first time since yesterday, with a loud 'Dada'. He lifted her up and kissed her cheeks, making her laugh a little and blow a raspberry with her lips.

Eros was still laying down, but wide awake, and I picked him up. "Should I change my clothes?" Cristiano asked.

I held out my other arm and he gave me Rosaria. "Yup. You'd look weird in a casual place with a suit on." I said. He chuckled and left the nursery to go change.

*******

"1, 2, 3!" We pushed the baby swings at the same time and as soon as we did, they started squealing and giggling. I think this is the only time Rosaria was able to let go of her stuffed bunny. On the swings, they had actual seatbelts, which I've never seen before on a swing.

This park was for kids under the age of 12 and the park next to it had more dangerous 12 and up things like rock climbing and zip lining. We had only been here one other time and that was a month ago.

"So where are we going?" I asked, pushing Rosaria just enough that she wouldn't fly off or anything.

He looked at me blankly then remembered. "Hm. Would you like me to cook or do you want to go out to eat?"

"I think you've been working hard enough, we can go out." But I really liked his cooking a little better.

He knew this and shook his head. "Harlow, it's fine. It's just a meal for two. And you don't eat in large portions. I'd mind if I were feeding eleven people like I always do, but it's just us two and I don't mind."

Then realization hit me. Cristiano does feed eleven people, each and every day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He even makes our coffee. "You know what you are, Cristiano?"

He gave me a weird look. "A 6'2", 169 lbs, 24 year old sexy Italian man?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, but you're also a househusband."

"A househusband?"

"A househusband. You do everything a housewife should do, which makes you a househusband." He realized this was in correlation to the cooking thing and chuckled.

"You've made it quite clear that you cannot cook. You can bake, but cooking is a 0% success rate. I cook because I want to, and everyone else in the house that can cook a relatively good meal cuts or burns themselves at some point."

"And you never get hurt in the kitchen. I've gotten hurt in the kitchen and I wasn't even cooking." He laughed at how I put it but sighed at the memory. "But at least I help clean. And change diapers. And buy baby stuff."

"Yes, you do. But the only reason I do the housework, is because I have OCD, everything must be as perfect as I want it."

"Aw, you've come to terms to the fact that you're an extreme perfectionist." I smiled, giving Rosie another push.

He rolled his eyes this time with a smile. "I've known that for a while, I've just never talked about it since it was apparently so obvious. I'm okay with being what you call a househusband. It doesn't really bother me as long as everyone else does at least one chore."

"If you say so. But if you ever want to take a break, just let me know. I don't want to overwork you or anything." I said as we began to hold hands and he kissed the back of mine.

"You're not, really. Okay, bud," he stopped the swing and Eros threw his head back to look at him. "Let's take a small break, okay?" He lifted him out of the seat and carried him in his arm.

Eros laid his head against Cristiano's shoulder with a cute tiny yawn. "I guess being on a swing set for ten minutes wipes you out." I laughed, picking up Rosaria who was still up and hyper. "You want bun-bun?" I asked her, and Cristiano sighed.

"Maybe we should detach her from her bunny. I think she loves it a little too much. She'll never let it go if we keep letting her obsess with it." He suggested, walking closer to us.

"Well, babe, she is a baby. She's gonna grow abnormally attached to things. What about your old bear Sal?" I smiled to prove a point.

He scoffed. "I got rid of that thing when I turned five."

"So let Rosaria keep her bunny until she turns five."

"I'm still gonna let her keep it, just distance her from it sometimes. Face it, she can't live without that brown little stuffed thing." He said.

I looked at her and sighed, kissing her forehead. "Okay. No bun-bun, I guess."

She turned her head to him, pouting adorably. "Buh-buh..."

"I'm sorry my little rosebud, but no bun-bun." She was a baby, but she was old enough to understand that no meant not to do something, or that she couldn't have something. They both knew that.

Her bottom lip trembled, and her big ocean blue eyes welled up with tears. Soon enough, she was crying. I laid her head against my shoulder and lightly bounced her, but she was still having a crying fit over her bunny.

"Can she just have her bunny this one time?" I asked, us both knowing it's the only thing that would stop her crying.

He groaned silently and reached into his messenger bag, pulling out her bunny and handing it to her, putting it under her arm. Her sobs slowed and lightened, and the bunny's ear was soon in her mouth. She liked it more than a pacifier, so we had to keep it clean at all times.

"Do you want to go get gelato?" He asked with a small smile. "I packed their snacks, don't worry."

"Why would I worry? You are an efficient snack-maker-and-bringer." I grinned, which made him laugh.

So we went around the corner to get gelato, and Cristiano spent the entire time playing with Rosaria and Eros while talking to me. I didn't care that he was taking all of their attention from me, he deserved to have them after having to be away so much. Even the waitress gushed a little over how cute they were being.

We spent two hours there before going back to the estate, and Cristiano was still playing with the twins to the point that he caused them to miss their evening, post-dinner nap. Cristiano and I didn't eat because he was taking me out for dinner tonight.

"Cristiano—" okay, I guess they took their nap on time. He laid on the couch on his back, shirtless and only in his joggers, fast asleep with the twins who were asleep on his chest. He had them cuddled up in his arms, his hair messy and all over the place probably because the twins like to pull hair.

It was the cutest thing ever.

I saw their bottles on the table, and I went to take them into the kitchen. "I'll get it." He mumbled tiredly. I didn't notice that he had woken up. I was silent.

"No, I've got it. It was time for their nap anyways, don't wake them up." If he were to move an inch, they'd wake up. He smiled at me and I returned it. I headed to the kitchen, but he called me.

"Harlow?" He closed his eyes, on his way to sleep again.

"Hm?"

"I'm so glad I married you. I couldn't ask for a better wife and mother of my children, and I...I just love you so, so much. Words couldn't express how much I do." He sighed contently and I blinked in astonishment at his sudden words.

"O-Oh um," I smiled in a small blush before sighing at my brain fart. "I love you too, and I could never say it enough."

Eros stirred, and Cristiano glanced at him as he rubbed his back. He looked back at me. "What time is it?"

"Nine thirty." I involuntarily scrunched my nose out of habit noting I hadn't done that in a while, and his eyes opened wide.

"Oh Harlow, I'm so sorry. We were supposed to go out an hour ago." He sighed, plopping his head back down on the throw pillow.

"It's fine. The night hasn't ended yet, Cristiano." I said, my voice weighing obvious of mischief.

He looked at me with a smirk before chuckling. "No, it hasn't." Rosaria suddenly sat up on her stomach with a small little high pitched yawn. "Hey Rosie." He smiled, kissing her tiny button nose.

She blinked and scrunched her nose the exact same way I did, and he apparently found it to be the most adorable thing on the planet. "Oh my God that was so cute!" He kissed her cheek and made her smile. "Do you want them to nap some more?" He asked as Eros woke up yet snuggled closer to Cristiano.

"No, their naps are only hour-long. Your mom's waiting in the kitchen with open arms whenever you're ready to go." I was already clothed, wearing an off-the-shoulder white cropped blouse, and some white high waisted silk shorts with white platform heels.

He sat up, and I went ahead and picked up Eros from him, kissing his face and making him giggle. "You know, that's not fair." Cristiano said with a pout.

"What?" I asked as Eros pressed his rosy cheek against mine.

"This." He stood up holding Rosaria and came to kiss Eros' temple. Eros raised his voice with a slightly loud 'nah' and I laughed and kissed his cheek, making him smile.

He pressed his cheek against mine again as I spoke. "Well maybe he just loves his mama."

"He loves me too!"

"Of course he does. But he prefers mama's kisses a little more then daddy's." I giggled. Eros lightly smacked my cheek, and I made an 'O' shape with my lips so it would a hollow noise which he liked so much.

Cristiano grumbled under his breath and I smiled. "At least you've got Rosaria." She was resting her head on his shoulder with a bright grin.

"Yeah. I'm gonna go get dressed." He said, pecking my cheek and giving Rosaria to me. He went upstairs and I went into the kitchen where Marcella was, and she smiled at us.

"Hi, cuties!" She cooed at the twins before looking at me. "You're about to go? When will you be back?"

"Before midnight, but we might need our room to ourselves." I nodded slowly and she chuckled.

"I get it. They can sleep in their other strollers tonight."

Their other strollers were for when they needed a walk through the park to fall asleep at night. They could lay down in the stroller. "Okay." I sat on a stool and sat them in my lap. Eros grabbed my ring finger and opened his mouth to try and eat my wedding ring.

I quickly pulled my hand away. "Woah that's not for eating, little dude." I wiped the three large diamonds of the ring on my skirt. "Daddy would have a heart attack if you swallowed this."

"Yes, I would." Cristiano walked into the kitchen, fully clothed in a fitted black t-shirt that showed off his large muscles and white skinny jeans with black and white Timberlands. "He try to eat your wedding ring again?"

"Yup. Ready?" I asked, as the twins decided to stand on each of my thighs.

"Mhm." He kissed Rosaria cheek and I kissed her other at the same time, making her giggle and gurgle. Cristiano took the risk to kiss Eros and I kissed his other cheek as he did.

And for once, Eros didn't complain. Instead, he giggled too. Cristiano laughed loudly. "Yes!"

"He's only not fussing because of Harlow." Mariana giggled.

"Ma, don't ruin the moment." He groaned. I gave the twins to her and Eros laid his head on her shoulder. "Bye-bye." I waved at them and they waved back.

"Buh-bye mama." Rosaria cooed. I smiled and grabbed Cristiano's hand as he led me out the house.

We got in his car and rolled down all the windows as he drove through the beautiful city of Florence and I smelled nothing but his sexy scent and fresh flowers. Which is the best thing I've ever smelled. I looked up at the sky that was filled with bright and beautiful stars, I could notice his glancing at me every few seconds out of my peripheral vision.

"Is there a reason you're staring while driving?" I looked at him, slipping off my heels and crisscrossing my legs in the seat.

"I can't help but stare at the most beautiful woman in the world." He said, triggering the red color to spread on my cheeks.

I fidgeted with my wedding ring, sighing with his amazing need to compliment me. "You never run out of compliments."

"Nope, not ever. Aren't you gonna ask?" He tapped his fingers on the wheel making me glance at him in confusion.

"Oh. Where are we going, hubs?" I smiled with anticipation. He smiled too.

"It's a slight surprise." He bit his lips together.

I groaned. "What's the point of me asking if you're just gonna keep it a surprise?" He laughed at my whining. "I'm guessing we're eating outside."

"Of course, that's our thing." He grinned cheekily.

"Really? You don't think we should switch it up?" I asked out of curiosity.

He glanced at me. "You don't want to have a picnic?"

"Of course I do. I just thought that you'd be bored of it and want to do something more extreme or something." I shrugged.

"It's not about my personal fun, it's about our fun together. Us in general. Just you and me under the stars." He squeezed my hand.

"Aw," I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Plus, you've tried extreme before and you jumped from a 100 foot tall tree and dived head first onto a rock in a lake and scared me shitless." He sighed.

I rubbed a little past my hairline where I could still feel the large scar. It wasn't the largest scar on my body—he largest scar I had was from when Francisco cut my inner thigh from my knee almost all the way to my nether regions. I was scared to wear skirts, shorts, and short dresses for awhile, but I got over it. Crop tops were also a small problem back then because of the bullet wound scar in my lower chest.

"In my defense, I didn't know there were rocks." I said meekly. But he was silent, and I looked at his thinking face. "What?"

"What was your dream about when you were in the hospital that you didn't tell me? 'Cause you told Gia. But not me." He rolled up the windows a little to hear me better.

"Oh, uh. I'll tell you when we get to wherever we're going." What's the point of keeping it in now, I've already had the twins and we were already married.

"Okay." He shrugged.

*****

"Ow!" I hissed as my heel stepped on a twig or rock and my ankle painfully jerked to the side.

He stopped the walk. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." And with that, he kept walking me to a mystery location. The sound of water filled my ears and I sighed with a smile. "Lake?"

"Bigger." My feet hit softer ground, and something grainy made its way into my shoes. We stopped, and suddenly I couldn't feel his warmth on my back. My eyes were uncovered, and I laughed in disbelief at the beautiful picnic setup on the empty beach. I recognized it instantly.

"This is where we—"

"Had our first date." He grabbed my hands and intertwined our fingers.

"And what makes it more special is that this is where I became your girlfriend." I smiled as I leaned into him. "This is very cute, Cristiano. I love it." Notice how I didn't call him cute, I called his date setup cute.

"Thanks, I wanted you to love it. Come, let's eat. I'm sure you're hungry." He kept my hands in his as he backed and led me to the blanket where we sat across from each other. I slipped off my heels and put them aside before digging my toes into the sand. He took off his shoes and socks also.

He took gelato, a shrimp scampi dish for me and linguine Alfredo for him, and two Caesar salads out of the picnic basket. "Can we have gelato first?" I asked, putting on the cutest face I could attempt to make.

He paused, and his eyes that matched the ocean darted to me. He pursed his lips and blinked at me. "Do you honestly think I'd say yes?"

"Maybe. If you love me, then you'll let me eat the gelato." I said, which gave him no way out of saying yes.

But he found a way. "Harlow, I do love you, therefore I will let you eat gelato like you just said. But after dinner." He manipulated my mistake in words and I crossed my arms in a pout, making him laugh and pinch my cheek. "Aw, you're so adorable when you do that."

I smacked his hand away and turned away from him, still being childish. He sighed and I heard a pop behind me before smelling the savory scent of his cooking. "I guess you don't want this, then."

"Hey, woah, I never said that." I turned back around and took my hot food to instantly dig in. He laughed and started eating too. "Thanks, househusband."

"You're still on that? I'm just taking care of my family." He said.

"You cook for eleven people, sometimes twelve when my sister visits," I still counted Annalise as my sister.

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