Still… belonging and understanding were two different things. The deeper we settled into this… whateverthiswas… the more all the edges of everything left unsaid pulled tighter and tighter.
We’d agreed to so much without ever actually agreeing to it.
The shared bed.
The constant physical closeness.
The way all of us touched her and she touched us.
The quiet assumption that she was ours and we were hers.
The way she fell asleep pressed between us as naturally as breathing.
No one had said it aloud, but every one of us was living it.
Well, that wasn’t totally true. Grace had said it. She’d said she loved us. She’d told us that all the way back in France. She loved us and she wanted us. Then in Miami, she said she didn’t know what she wanted—except that it involved all of us.Shewantedus.
So, our Gracie,—sweet, brave, traumatized, stubborn Grace—needed more from all of us like oxygen. Needed clarity. Needed truth she could hold in her hands. She needed to hear what we all felt but hadn’t given words to.
She needed to know she wasn’t temporary.
Bones got her laughing—real and bright—and the sound filled every room in the house like it always did. As she headed toward the kitchen for dinner, I wiped my hands on a towel and intercepted her gently.
“Hey,” I said, brushing my knuckles lightly along her arm. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
She blinked up at me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I gave her a small smile. “But there’s something I think we should say out loud. Something all of us have been… avoiding.”
The whole house shifted. They’d heard me. I wasn’t so self-absorbed to think they weren’t feeling it. Understanding.
Grace took a small breath. A wary one. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” I said, stepping closer, letting my voice stay soft but firm. “But you—and us—we’re building something. We’re living something. And it’s long-term. Whether or not any of us have said that out loud.”
Her eyes went wide—uncertain, hopeful, scared.
“Legend…” she whispered.
“We’re here,” I told her. “Not just because you need us. Not because of your sister. Not just because you’re hurting—though I’d really like to fix that part. We’re here because where you are ishome. This has always been Base, but now it’s home too because you are here. I think it’s time we stopped pretending we didn’t all choose this already.”
Bones crossed his arms behind her like a wall of warm muscle. “He’s right.”
Voodoo set his book aside and stood. “We’re already in, Firecracker.”
Alphabet shut his laptop, voice low but steady. “We should talk. All of us.”
Grace looked at each of us one by one—eyes shining, breath caught, shoulders trembling like she didn’t know whether to collapse or reach for us.
So I held her gaze and offered the truth she needed.
“No more guessing,” I said. “No more reading between lines. You deserve to know exactly where we stand.”
I reached out, offering my hand—not grabbing, not pulling, just offering.
“Let’s have the conversation we’ve all been avoiding,” I said softly. “Together.”
Her fingers slid into mine.I guided her gently toward the huge dining table. Roasted butternut squash soup steamed in the tureen at the center, braised short ribs sat atop a bed of garlic mashed potatoes, maple-glazed carrots glistened beside them, and fresh homemade bread waited, still warm from the oven. The apple cobbler was cooling on the counter, the scent of cinnamon and sugar already filling the room. A wine glass awaited her while I’d put out beer mugs for the rest of us.
