After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

"To my first born, Baby Pepper," she said to the cute baby in her arms. "Even at a young age we can see your go-getter attitude. Your sassy spirit and strong will always keep us on our toes."

She couldn't help but boop the baby's nose. "I can't wait to see what you'll accomplish in the future."

She kissed the baby girl and she giggled, her small hands touching her mother's face, earning her another smooch from her beloved mum.

"Mwamwa! Mwamwa!" Meatball yelled, extending his little arms to get to her as well, though sadly him, his father was really really strong and he couldn't get to her.

Unconsciously, his weight increased—easily to the weight of a teen—but Garan and his stoic face didn't show anything.

"Dadaaa! Bad dadaaa!"

Garan's eyebrows rose, and Althea went over and gently squeezed his little nose. "Ehh… don't say that, your dad will be sad."

The baby boy pursed his lips, making his chubby cheek plumper. Althea smiled and gave him a kiss as well.

"For my baby Meatball," she said. "Your boundless energy lights up every room you enter.

"You remind us to embrace life with enthusiasm, and we love to watch every moment of your adventures—also to make sure you didn't hit another tabletop, of course."

Another burst of chuckles resounded in the room, and the parents took this time to give their children one more sound smooch each before raising their glasses.

"Let's raise a toast," she said, taking the juice on the table prepared for them. "Here's to Pepper and Meatball: May your lives be filled with laughter, love, and endless adventures you enjoy.

"Happy Birthday my babies, I love you so much!"

…

The party ended with everyone smiling. The couple held a child each as they saw each guest out the door.

"Bwye! Bwye!" the babies said, opening and closing their hands as if to wave goodbye to their guests.

If the guests could count how many times their hearts melted today, it must've been in the hundreds. Most of them didn't leave without taking photos with the babies, too, and they couldn't wait for the day they could develop the photos and have hard copies pinned on their walls.

The guests cleared out about half an hour later, with the events staff hauling all the gifts and sent them directly to their villa (led by Ansel, of course). When the rest of the family got home, the small mountain of gifts greeted their entrance.

Every child got excited at the sight of gifts. Even Maya, Theo, and the others—even if they knew it wasn't from them—squealed. Of course, the babies, who owned the gifts, were no exceptions.

The little ones tried to wiggle out of their parents' arms, so the two had to place them down the floor. The babies then quickly pattered to where the gifts were, practically diving into them.

"Gwifts! Gwifts!"

"It's past your bedtime though."

"Gwifts! Gwifts!"

Ansel chuckled and grabbed the babies each, tickling them. "So excited?"

Their milky giggles made everyone's hearts melt.

Anyway, the big kids—with some adults—helped them unwrap the gifts, and everyone else—even those with their own abodes—stayed for the unboxing.

While the babies jumped around excitedly, Althea and Garan sat down on a sofa, with Althea habitually resting her head on her husband's broad shoulder.

"Wife…" he said. "Meatball used his powers earlier."

She blinked and turned to him. "What?" then she turned at the babies jumping around.

Meatball was particularly more energetic, and she wondered whether he'd destroy the floor every time he landed or something. Fortunately, nothing of the sort actually happened.

Still, they couldn't help but feel worried. Were the children exhibiting again?

…

Unaware of a certain couple's worries, the rest of them enjoyed unpacking the gifts. Whenever something came out of a box, people would cheer, hyping up the babies even more.

The gifts ranged from blankets, stuffed toys, puzzles, and the like.

The most prominent blankets came from Lenny because she seemed to have used all her skills—including her inheritances—to create them.

The blankets were not only adorable—with Pepper's having cute flower patterns and Meatball's with animal prints—but they also had special insulating qualities while retaining comfortable textures.

The kids had two each to give way for laundry day, so that even when they had to wash the blankets, they would always have a spare.

There were also various stuffed toys of various sizes. They were all customized too with the kids' names embroidered on to them. Adorably, each baby would name them as soon as they received them, and they already chose favorites.

For example, Baby Meatball's favorite was an elephant his size. He'd call him Trunks. Meatball's vocabulary naturally didn't have the word yet, but he just had to look at Uncle Ansel for recommendations and the redhead would rarely disappoint.

Baby Pepper's favorite was an adorable fluffy white bird a head larger than she was.

It was called a Snow Fairy Bird, an adorable species back in Terran which was basically a cotton ball with wings. 1She called it Cotton, this time upon Auntie Winona's recommendation.

There were also storybooks with bright colors and smooth pages. There were a few stories that could be used in alteration.

Some had varying levels of complexity, too, so Althea wouldn't run out of storybooks for the next few years.

Garan's gift was a magic tool he bought from Bart. It was a music box of sorts. It'd record Althea's voice for the kids (and him) to listen to since they loved it so much before going to bed.

Hopefully, it could help them become less dependent on her during night time…

Lastly, Althea's was also a magic tool. During the past few months, she had used her toolmaking skills quite often that it did show a lot of improvement.

It still wasn't much—in her opinion—and she still hadn't learned how to do anything except protection charms, however, the quality definitely took a large leap from her first creation.

Now… they were not only much more compact and could be easily worn by babies as bracelets, but they should also be able to handle a lot more damage.

She just hoped they would never have to use it.

Don't know which animal this is? Google 'Hokkaido Snow Fairy'. You're welcome.