"Tyler," Ben calls, shaking his son's shoulder on Christmas morning. "Tyler, it's time to get up."
"No, it's not!" Tyler moans, pulling up his pillow and burying his purple hair underneath it. "It's never time to wake up. It's always time to sleep."
'Mood,' Ben agrees silently. "Alright," he sighs, standing back up. "I guess I'll have to tell Zach and Mom that they can split your presents because you don't want them." Immediately, Tyler flings the pillow, which is steaming a little, against the wall and jumps out of bed. He runs straight into Ben and then pushes his way through his legs to get to the door. Ben sighs in frustration but laughs at his antics nonetheless. He can hear Tyler hollering "It's Christmas!" Down the hall as he goes.
He follows his son to the Living Room and finds both anxious boys waiting beside the door he purposefully locked. He snorts as they bounce from one foot to the other and makes a big show of searching his pockets for the key. "I don't have it," He chuckles finally, and they both groan. Tyler jumps at him and shoves his tiny hand into Ben's pocket.
"Yes, you do!" He shouts. "You big, fat dragon-liar!"
"No, I don't," Ben laughs, backing up a little. "But, I bet that if you knock really, really softly, a fairy will hear you and open the door."
Immediately, both boys jump to the door. Tyler pounds on the door with hammering fists that rattle the hinges and Zach shoves his shoulder.
"No, Tyler!" Zach hisses. "Dad said softly!" He raises a tentative fist to the door and taps very, very softly against it. Immediately, the knob lights up green and clicks. Tyler twists it so hard Ben hears a pop that makes him wince, and then both boys poke their heads in and gasp in shock. Ben smiles.
Behind the door lies a paper winter wonderland. Hundreds of snowflakes that their family made yesterday spin on the ceiling, and presents are spread out among sparkly paper on the couches. Everything is separated into five sections. Zach's things cover one of the loveseats in shades of bright blue and with origami Beast's acting as an additional identifier. Tyler's are pushed a little bit more away from everyone else's and cover the floor behind the tree. Several long, purple and green dragons protect his horde. Ben and Mal's share the couch with modest white wrapping and beautiful, colorful bows on top. Then, in the center, there are some family gifts, most of which will be for the baby that will be here this time next year. The entire room smells like a pine forest and guitar music is playing in the background.
"Christmas!" Tyler shouts at the top of his lungs as Mal appears from behind the door, filming their reactions with her phone camera. He beats his chest with his fists and spins in a circle before thwacking against the couch and falling into a pile of sparkly white paper that Mal set out to resemble snow. Zach stares, openmouthed, at everything before he turns to Mal with an astonished look.
"You did all of this?" He gasps.
Mal looks surprised at his reaction. She nods, wiping the last remnants of her stress out of her eyes. "Yes, baby, Dad and I did this."
"Well, mostly mom," Ben argues. "I helped with her one-thousand snowflakes." He bats at one with an annoyed look. "And she wouldn't even use magic," He finishes with a sour look directed at his wife's camera.
"Thank you!" Zach exclaims, tripping over another wayward pile of paper snow as he rushes to hug her. He buries his face in her midsection when he reaches her and Mal almost drops her phone as she tries to return his hug. She looks absolutely relieved.
Tyler dashes into his pile of presents and lets out a dramatic shout. "We have dragons!" He yells, tugging one of the origami dragon present decorations off of his gifts and putting it on his head. He starts to run around the room, very narrowly avoiding running into Ben, with the dragon's long body flicking up and down with the wind as he goes.
"Dragons?" Zach asks, letting go of Mal and then running to lean over the back of the couch with his presents. He shouts in triumph. "Ha! You have dragons. I have Beasts!" He carefully pulls two up, makes them face each other, and then lets out a vicious roar that makes all of Ben's hairs stand on end. Mal stares in shock until Zach starts giggling and pulling off all of the other origami action figures.
"Dragons have better growls!" Tyler declares, rushing by Zach with his dragon flapping behind him. "Roooaar!" He bellows and jumps onto the empty armchair. However, his growl is more tame, not like Zach's animalistic one. It does have the hints of something demonic behind it, which he probably inherited from Hades and his godly roots but is overall a childish impression that makes Ben laugh as he goes to Mal's side and wraps his arm around her.
"I told you they'd love it," He whispers.
"Shh," Mal whispers with a smile as she leans into his frame, holding both hands to her belly. "I'm allowed to worry."
Tyler pulls off another origami dragon, rumpling the tail a little as he does, and then attaches both to his arms with the tape before stretching out his arms, airplane-style, and continuing his dash around the room. Meanwhile, Zach lines up his Beasts from largest to smallest in pride and then glances over his shoulder to where Ben and Mal are standing, waiting.
"Be right back," Ben whispers and then slips back into the hall. Mal goes to sit in the armchair and watches Zach leave to go pull his and her stockings off the wall. He puts his with his things and then hers with hers, and then he brings back Ben's and the baby's, which is lighter than everyone else's. The baby's he puts at Mal's feet before sitting cross-legged in front of the stuffed loveseat and reaching into his stocking to glance over his new things. A collection of chocolates and candies fall into his lap along with a new toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, and then a breakfast of bananas and tiny oranges. He happily pulls on a new pair of thick socks with the Beast Crest knit into them and then begins to carefully peel his oranges and eat them slice by slice while Tyler dashes around the room. He doesn't bring Tyler's stocking over - probably to punish him for all the extra noise he's making.
Tyler finally collapses with a sigh over Mal's lap, and she chuckles as she runs her fingers through his sweaty hair. He pokes at the stocking by her feet. "Is this mine?" He asks loudly.
"No, Beastie," Mal replies. "That's for Fae. We needed some things to start with her room."
"Fae?" Zach's shoulders slump as he stares up at her. "He's Beastie, they're Fae, and I get baby?"
Mal sighs. "I like your nickname," she tells Zach, leaning over to ruffle his hair as he wrinkles his nose at the contact. "And you know what, no matter where you go and how old you get, you're always going to be my first baby. That's not gonna change."
Zach sinks into the loveseat with a little groan before the door opens again. Tyler is filtering around in the baby's stocking, looking for candies. "There's nothing good in here!" He complains. "It's all binkies and funny rags and socks."
"You have socks and candies and breakfast in your stocking," Mal explains as Ben comes into view behind the loveseat. "I bet that if you ask Zach or Dad really nicely, they'll help you lift it down."
"My hands are full," Ben hums as he puts a mug of hot chocolate down beside Tyler and then another on the table for Tyler. "Zach, can you help Tyler get his stocking down?"
Zach sighs, walks to the wall, and pulls Tyler's black and red stocking down. "Here, Tyler," He says, putting it beside the table. Tyler clambers off of Mal's legs and takes a seat criss-cross-applesauce with his back to the table. He upends his stocking in between his legs and then begins sorting things to find his favorite chocolate bars.
"Thanks, Zach," He mumbles as he unwraps a chocolate cookie bar, dips it in his hot chocolate, and then begins to chew.
Mal sighs. "Beastie, don't forget to eat your breakfast," She reprimands. Ben puts a hand on her shoulder and presses a mug of steaming hot chocolate into her hands, taking care to squeeze her fingers before withdrawing to sit on the arm of the loveseat. Mal smiles at him before closing her eyes and sipping her drink.
Ben claps his hands together. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but there's nowhere to sit in here. We need to start going through these presents so we don't have to sit on the floor!"
"Or Mom could move," Tyler hums. "But let's do presents instead. Presents are better than breakfast anyway."
"Finish your banana," Mal commands, raising an eyebrow. "Zach is already almost done with his breakfast." She nods towards Zach, who doesn't look up as he pulls a segment of orange apart and squints at the tiny segments inside.
Tyler picks at the top of his banana and then slowly figures out a way to break into it. As mushy banana bits find their way to stick to his chin, he yanks the plastic bit out of his new socks and puts them on his feet before sticking them in the air to show Mal wordlessly.
Ben stands up and brings over his and Mal's stockings so that they can both locate their own breakfasts. Ben has muffins wrapped in crinkly plastic, and Mal has an abundance of strawberries and grapes. Tyler whines when he sees her strawberries. "Can I have some?" He begs, pulling on her pajama leg.
"You can after your breakfast is done," Mal bribes him. "And after we clean your face off."
They slowly make their way towards unwrapping things. Mal struggles to wipe off Tyler's face as he squirms while Zach waits patiently, tapping his fingers on the first present, which is heavy and has the lines that a hardcover book makes in the side of the paper. When Mal finally releases, Tyler, he practically explodes into his pile while Zach finally slides a golden letter opener under the line of paper.
"Clothes!" Tyler explodes, collapsing against the couch in disappointment. "My first present is clothes?"
Mal only rolls her eyes as Zach carefully puts his wrapping paper behind the couch and holds up his book to show them both with a small smile. "I got the book I wanted!" He exclaims softly.
Mal raises her eyes at the unfamiliar cover and then glances up at Ben. "Is that one from dad?" She asks softly.
"Yeah," Ben affirms. "Now, that book's a really high level, Zach. So if you need any help with it, let us know."
The cover of the book reads "Thompsen's Microbiology and Scientific Metaphysics - fourth edition".
"A textbook?" Mal whispers in confusion.
Ben nods. "He read the first few pages of it when a college student left it at a table," He whispers as Zach puts his book safely underneath the couch, where no hot chocolate spills can reach it, and then begins to look through his other gifts.
Mal can't help but feel like she missed a beat when she compares the things she got for Zach versus the things Ben got for Zach. There's a variety of other books on subjects she can't even begin to understand, among them "ASAP AP Biology", "Cryptological Mathematics", "Big Ideas Math", "Unsolvable Mysteries of the Universe", "Introduction to Biochemistry," "Understanding Psychology", and "Social Problems in Auradon - second edition." He's also got a planner, which she has a vague idea of how to use, two section-divided notebooks and fancy pens, and stickers with things like "Additional Information" or "Sources" on them. Meanwhile, she's given him a variety of clothes, a weighted blanket, a beanbag chair, and then a bookcase. There isn't much difference in how much Zach likes his presents between them, but she can feel the directional differences between her and Ben's methods palpably.
Tyler rips the paper off of his things so quickly that Mal barely has time to get photos in between, and then he gathers everything up on his own beanbag chair and munches on his chocolate while beginning a large Lego Block Kit on his stomach on the floor. The boys are both quiet then, as Zach collapses into his new chair and starts examining his microbiology textbook. Ben reaches over to the couch and hands things to Mal for her to unwrap. "I'm not sure he'll be able to read all those," he whispers in her ear in concern as they watch Zach flip a page and circle something inside the book. "They might be too hard for him."
Mal swallows and draws the tape back on her gift. She tries to ignore the fear twisting in her stomach. Part of her agrees with Ben. Metaphysics isn't exactly a third-grade subject, and Zach is turning eight next summer. He'd only be in the second grade if he was enrolled. There's no way he should be able to read anything in there. But the other, devilish part of her whispers: "What if he can read them? What if he is that advanced? What then?"
When the paper is all cleared away and everything wrapped has been uncovered and discovered, then Ben clears his throat and both boys look up. "Zach, we have one more thing that Mom and I have decided to give you." He puts his hand over Mal's as she takes a little breath. "But this comes with a lot of responsibility and there's going to be lots of rules attached."
Zach closes his book. "Yeah?" He asks, perking up a little in anticipation. Ben lifts the pillow on the couch and reveals a small box, about the size of Ben's palm, hidden there. Zach stands up, takes the gift, and then with one glance towards his parents, slowly unwraps it. Tyler leans forward in excitement, making wild guesses.
"Is it chocolate?" He demands as Zach rips a corner back. "Or is it a game? Or another book?"
But Zach pulls the paper back to reveal a slick white case, and his mouth drops open in comic shock. His eyes are wide and his cheeks flushed as he turns around a box with a photo of a phone on it. Tyler howls when he recognizes it. "No fair!" He says. "I want one!"
"When you're older," Ben shakes his head. Mal pulls the sulking child into her arms as Zach looks back down at the box in shock.
"Now, this is a tool," Ben explains, leaning forward as Zach slowly lifts the top and pulls out a blue-backed smartphone. "Mom and I know that you like to hang out in the library and wait for us, and we also know that you're reading a lot of advanced stuff and you won't always understand it. This is to help you find more information and also get in contact with Mom and Dad. We're going to put filters on what you can search though, and you have to leave it in our room at night, and we're going to search it, but this is yours."
"You can order your phone case," Mal mumbles. "Find a design you like and if you need help, let us know."
"This is so cool!" Zach exclaims, reveling in the thrill. He throws himself forward into Ben, and then into Mal. Tyler whines as he's squished in between his mom and older brother. Zach ignores him long enough to kiss Mal on the cheek.
"Go grab my laptop from my office," Ben suggests, "And I'll help you set up your phone and put music and games on it. Okay?"
Zach scrambles off, accidentally slamming the door to the hall in his excitement, and vanishes. Tyler groans from where he drapes himself over Mal's lap. "How come he gets a phone?" He moans. "He's not that much older. Can I have one next year?"
'Absolutely not,' Mal thinks. She already feels guilty giving one seven-year-old a cell phone despite his maturity and intelligence. "When you're ready for it, we'll give you one," she promises Tyler, kissing his forehead. "Zach is a lot older mentally. He's responsible enough for it. When you can remember to brush your teeth by yourself and you don't throw fits and you can clean up after yourself, we'll consider it."
Tyler whines and rolls off of her lap, thudding to the floor. Ben rolls his eyes as his youngest whines into the carpet. "You're really convincing us," He sighs, and then picks Mal up off the armchair to pull onto his lap. Mal curls into him for a second then opens her eyes and reaches for Zach's textbook. She opens it to the page he left it one and sees three six-syllable words circled with question marks beside them. Everything else, it seems, is clear.
Ben hums. "He must be a little further ahead than we thought," he mutters.
Mal feels like she might be sick. She's always known her baby was smart, but she skims the page and feels a headache coming on, she realizes just how far ahead. Her baby boy is officially smarter than her, and she wonders just how much time she has left before he realizes she's a complete idiot.