Chapter 89: Balance and Boundaries
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The morning sun peeked through the curtains of the Oliveira household, casting a golden hue across the wooden floorboards. The scent of fresh coffee drifted from the kitchen into the living room where Tobi sat cross-legged on the plush rug, holding a tiny blue sock in one hand and a pacifier in the other. He looked at the two boys—Liam and Thiago—snoozing in their bouncers while Ava and Luna babbled in their crib nearby, tossing stuffed animals at each other like it was a game of war.
"Thiago drooled on your training top again," Emilia called from the kitchen with a laugh, lifting the bottle warmer off the counter. She was still in her robe, her hair pulled into a messy bun, and even in that domestic moment, she was radiant to Tobi.
"I'm starting to think he's doing it on purpose. Like father, like son," Tobi replied, standing and stretching, his white Arsenal t-shirt wrinkled and stained with baby formula.
Today marked three weeks since Arsenal's Champions League parade. The entire summer had been a blur—media appearances, marketing deals, fan events, and of course, night shifts with four infants. Tobi's schedule had flipped upside down. Sleep came in two-hour bursts between feeding, changing, and helping Emilia whenever she needed rest. Yet, in all that chaos, he had never felt more alive.
"Arsenal called again," Emilia said as she walked into the room, two bottles in hand, setting one beside each boy. "They want you to film another behind-the-scenes feature with the new academy recruits. Something about being a role model."
Tobi sighed. "I'm all for giving back, but I wish they'd give me a few more weeks. I haven't even kicked a ball this month."
"You kicked your sock across the room yesterday trying to hit the laundry basket," Emilia teased, nudging him with her hip. "That counts."
Tobi laughed, then took one of the bottles and gently offered it to Liam, who latched on without fuss. "Liam's got your appetite," he murmured, watching the baby's tiny hands grip his finger.
"And Thiago's got your temper," Emilia said, nodding toward the other boy who had started to fuss already.
Ava began screeching—one of those shrill, playful cries that always led to Luna kicking her blanket off in protest. Within seconds, the room sounded like a symphony of tiny voices.
Tobi rocked gently on his feet. "I used to play in stadiums with eighty thousand people chanting my name," he said to no one in particular. "Now I feel like I'm playing four-on-one, and they're all winning."
Emilia chuckled as she bounced Luna in her arms. "You're still man of the match in here."
That afternoon, Tobi finally found time to sneak out to the home gym in the garage. It had become his quiet sanctuary, a place where he could center himself and keep his body sharp. He started slow—some light stretches, resistance bands, and core work. It wasn't much, but his body welcomed the movement.
The phone buzzed mid-workout. It was a message from Mikel Arteta.
Coach Arteta:
Preseason camp starts in ten days. Expecting you at London Colney. Full fitness test mandatory.
Tobi stared at the message for a few seconds. A wave of emotions passed over him. He was excited, yes. But also a little anxious.
Was he ready to leave the babies even for a few hours? Would Emilia be okay managing four newborns alone? Could he still keep up with the pace, the pressure, the expectations?
He walked back into the living room, his tank top drenched in sweat. Emilia sat on the couch now, one of the girls asleep in her lap, her eyes half-closed with fatigue.
She looked up. "You're thinking about preseason, aren't you?"
Tobi sat down beside her, pulled her into his arms, careful not to wake the baby. "Yeah."
She rested her head on his shoulder. "You'll be fine. We'll be fine. We've got this, babe. Arsenal needs their champion."
Tobi smiled, kissing her forehead. "I just… I don't want to miss anything."
"You won't," she whispered. "We'll record everything. Their first giggle, their first step. But you need to go. Because you're not just their dad—you're their hero."
That night, while feeding Ava in the nursery, Tobi opened his journal—the same one he started the year he turned professional.
He scribbled:
Four babies. One incredible wife. Ten days until preseason. I'm not sure how I'll balance it all. But for them, I'll find a way."
And he would.
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The early morning light filtered through the sheer curtains of the Oliveira household, casting a golden hue over the quiet room where four cribs stood neatly side by side. Tobi rubbed his eyes, still adjusting to the rhythm of fatherhood. The cries of Luna echoed softly through the baby monitor, followed by Ava's, as if in a twin-sister symphony of hunger.
Tobi sat up, glancing to his side.
Emilia stirred slightly, her hair messy from the short burst of sleep they'd both stolen. She reached for the monitor, then paused as Tobi kissed her forehead gently.
"I've got them," he whispered. "Sleep a little more."
He shuffled into the nursery, barefoot and shirtless, his chest marked faintly by the claw of Thiago's tiny nails from the night before. With practiced ease, he picked up Luna and Ava, settling into the rocking chair with a bottle in each hand. Their tiny fingers wrapped around his thumbs, eyes blinking up at him as they fed quietly.
This was life now.
Not the roaring stadium, not the Champions League medals — but moments like this. And he wouldn't trade it for anything.
A few hours later, Emilia came downstairs to the smell of toasted bagels and scrambled eggs. Tobi, with Thiago strapped against his chest and Liam strapped to his back like a tactical backpack, was bustling around the kitchen.
"Captain Daddy in action," she teased, wrapping her arms around him from behind.
He turned his head, grinning. "Squad's already had their warm-up. I'm making sure their manager's fed too."
They laughed together, eyes meeting in that warm silence only they shared. It still amazed both of them — how far they had come, how much they had endured, how real this new chapter was.
Later that day, Tobi was back at London Colney, the Arsenal training facility. Preseason had begun.
There was a new sharpness in his movements, a different energy. While his teammates returned from vacation with sun tans and sluggish feet, Tobi moved like a man with fire under him. Even Arteta raised an eyebrow as he watched him glide through drills.
"What did fatherhood do to you, Oliveira?" he joked.
Tobi smirked as he trapped the ball on a dime and spun into a sprint.
"It made me hungrier."
Training ended with applause as Tobi chipped Ramsdale from outside the box in a scrimmage — his signature finish. The younger lads gathered around him like kids around a campfire. They asked about diapers and goals, bottle feeding and bicycle kicks. Tobi gave them both.
But once training was over, he was straight home.
Back home, he arrived just in time to help Emilia with nap time. They lay together on the rug in the nursery, all four kids surrounding them. Ava on his chest, Liam snuggled at his side. Luna already dreaming in her cot. Thiago sucking his thumb noisily.
Tobi's phone buzzed with a message from his agent.
"Real Madrid submitted an inquiry. Big offer. Want you next summer. What do you think?"
He stared at it.
Then locked his screen.
This — this was home.
Late at Night
In their bedroom, Emilia traced her fingers over his back, drawing circles lazily.
"You were quiet during dinner. Everything okay?" she murmured.
Tobi nodded. "Just… thinking about everything. I used to dream of scoring in finals. Now I dream about not waking the babies when I sneak out for water."
She smiled. "You've changed."
He turned to her, voice low and firm. "I've grown."
They kissed gently, his hand resting over her palm. The soft sound of four little heartbeats filled the monitor in the corner of the room.
And Tobi, once a boy drowning in sorrow, was now a man building his legacy — not just in football, but in life.
Tomorrow, training again. Soon, the Community Shield. Then the league, the Champions League, the cups. But tonight?
Tonight, he was just Dad.
And it was everything.
Author here : you can donate coin and spirit stones for bonus chapter... If you donate more a gift that's 1000 coins or higher, you would be lord have your bonus chapter and would create a character based on your description and name
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