Ricardo lays quietly, little Mariana sprawled out over his chest, breathing deeply. Evenly. Next to him, Alicia is settled in, Clara resting against her in a very similar fashion. Down the hall, Sofia is asleep, Andre conked out next to her after a failed attempt at remaining awake for midnight. The two parents exchange fond, amused smiles before turning their eyes back to the TV, the sound down low enough to keep the babies from being startled, but just enough for them to hear the vague excitement as the time ticks by, ever closer to the ringing in of 2023.
"I love you," she tells him softly, grin growing as they register the sounds on the TV growing, midnight just a few seconds away now.
"I love you too," he says, risking shifting a few inches to the side, his hand lightly bracing the baby against his chest as he meets Alicia half-way, the two of them kissing as the clock strikes midnight. "Happy New Year, mami."
"Happy New Year, padre," she says, chuckling against his lips.
"Do you think it'll be a good year?" Ricardo asks, his hand hesitantly reaching into his pocket to graze his recovery chip.
"I do," Alicia whispers. "Not perfect, no year is, but I think with these three beautiful babies around to keep us grounded, there's no way it'll be bad."
"Yeah," Ricardo laughs, agreeing with her as he lightly runs a finger down Mariana's cheek. "I agree with you."
They ease together, watching the twins sleep on, relieved that the limited fireworks that do go off in their neighborhood aren't close enough to disrupt the girls, and end within only a couple minutes, instead of going on throughout the night.
Once things are quiet, they share another kiss, and then lean their foreheads together to watch their babies sleep through the dawning of a new year.
