"One plus of Mike's birthday being recent is we get some time to ourselves," Ricardo says, cuddled up close to Alicia.
"And the cake," she says, scraping her fork against the plate to get the last few crumbs of the chocolate. "It's so good, god. I feel like this is way too late in my pregnancy to still have cravings, but here we are."
He chuckles and hands over his plate so she can scrape off the bit that remains on it. "You're pregnant with twins, you can crave whatever you want for as long as you want."
"You're so good to me," she sighs, chewing cheerfully on the last section of cake before shifting to kiss him on the mouth. "I love you so much."
"I love you too," he responds quietly.
She smiles up at him. "Let me see it again?"
He ruffles around in his pocket before finally tugging out the hard plastic, rubbing the ridges between his fingers for a few moments, handing it over.
Alicia hums, rubbing the 6 months chip between her fingers as well, nodding. "I'm so proud of you," she says softly, reaching over to cradle his face, guiding him closer for a slow, gentle kiss. "I'm sorry I can't support you more through all of this, I really imagined things different around now."
He sighs softly. "You support me plenty, I do not want you to ever feel guilty or the need to apologize for anything," he tells her, resting a hand on her stomach. "Besides, we can have a huge party when I hit my year chip. These little ones will probably be four or five months along, maybe we'll have more cake."
She laughs at him, shrugging. "Hopefully. Honestly by now I feel like they never want to get out. Which, trust me, considering I was so afraid they'd be born too early, I'm ok with holding onto them for awhile longer. I just miss doing more than laying around so much. It's weird being this inactive."
"I bet," Ricardo says softly, rubbing circles in her stomach. "But I'm glad you've been taking it easy the last few weeks. You three really had me worried there for awhile."
"I know we did," Alicia sighs, kissing him. "I hate being inactive but it has been nice to be the center of attention."
He chuckles. "You've always been my center of attention," he tells her, winking.
She huffs, resting her head on his shoulder. "I swear, as soon as I'm given the go-ahead, I'm going to make all of the last few months up to you." She leans closer to his ear and breathes out, "I'm gonna rock your world."
He taps his fingers against her spine and murmurs back, "I'm counting on it."
They rest their foreheads against each other and grin, the twins kicking steadily between them.