The house is quiet, especially with Alicia and the twins fast asleep on either end of the beds. Ricardo smiles at them, fights the urge to run his fingers through their hair, and turns quietly on his heel, making his way towards the kitchen. There's a light on, and he's not terribly surprised to peek in to find Sofia sifting flour while Andre plays around with cups and spoons next to her on the counter. "Hola," he says softly, Sofia's eyes immediately locking onto his, searching his face. "Alicia and the girls are asleep, so thought I'd come see what you two were doing."
Sofia shakes her head, making gentle shooing motions. "You should be asleep as well, mi hijo," she chides him.
"Perhaps," he says. "But I miss you two, and wanted to see what you were doing." He smacks a loud kiss into his son's hair and crinkles his nose when he comes back, covered in flour. "Playing, I see."
"Making Christmas cookies," Sofia corrects him calmly, wiping Andre's face off briskly. "And then taking a nice, long bubble bath. Isn't that right, Andre?"
Andre makes a face, then kicks his heels lightly against the cupboards, Ricardo shifting aside to press his arm against his son's side to give him something to rock against with his forward motion. "Papa," he says.
"Si, Andre?"
"When will my sisters be old enough to play?"
Ricardo stares down at his son, registering how strange this must be for the boy. He'd gone from being the only one who mattered to the whole household to splitting his time with three, very little, very dependent, girls. "Not right away, I'm afraid," he tells him. "But in a few months, they will start crawling and then learning to talk, and things will get better. I promise."
Andre sighs. "I miss playing with mama," he mumbles, trailing circles in the flour that had been spilled around him on the counter.
"Oh baby," Ricardo sighs, hoisting him forward, not even minding the flour that stains his shirt when he presses him close in a hug. It's washable, after all. "She misses doing things with you too, but soon the babies will be sleeping through the night, and things will get easier. I promise."
Andre grimaces but clings to his father's shirt, shivering a little. "Can you stay?"
"Of course I can," Ricardo murmurs, kissing his forehead. "Mind another set of hands in making these cookies, Sofia?"
"Absolutely not," she says, passing over another apron and smiling at him.
