Danny blinked. “What?”
Kevin folded his arms across his chest and gave him a level stare. “I’m not looking for a Daddy. Especially not yours.”
“I didn’t…” But Danny’s cheeks burned. His stomach did a slow, nauseating somersault.
Kevin’s gaze didn’t waver. “And no one will stand a chance with Daddy Easton anyway.”
Danny’s lungs locked.
“Because,” Kevin continued, with an unshakable certainty that knocked the breath right out of him, “he’s head over heels for you.”
The world tilted. “Wh… what?”
Kevin raised a brow. “Have you talked to him? Told him how you feel?”
Danny took a step back. The rubber mats suddenly felt unsteady under his shoes. “How I feel?”
A faint smile touched Kevin’s lips. “You’re in love with him.”
Not a question. Not an accusation.
Just a quiet truth, dropped like a stone into a still lake.
Danny looked away. His throat thickened with something awful and soft. A thousand protests rose, but none made it past his lips. Instead, he stared at his feet, at the edge of a faded purple rubber tile. His fingers curled into his palms.
“So.” Kevin’s tone was gentle now. “How are you going to tell him? And when?”
Danny shook his head, more a reflex than anything useful. “I… I don’t know.”
Kevin’s tone softened even more. “Look, I get it. It’s hard. Especially when there’s a power dynamic. When you’re used to someone calling the shots, taking care of you, reading your moods like tea leaves…”
Danny laughed, but it came out as more of a shaky exhale.
“… it gets really easy to forget that they’re not mind readers.”
A pause stretched between them, filled with the sound of distant laughter and the swish of the air against the castle.
“You’ll have to tell him.” Kevin backed up a step. “Even if it’s scary. Even if your voice shakes. He deserves to know. And more than that… you deserve to say it.”
Kevin turned.
Something in Danny reached out. “Wait.”
Kevin paused.
Danny’s voice cracked. “I… I’m sorry.”
Kevin glanced over his shoulder, one brow raised.
“I was a brat. I was jealous and petty and I thought… I don’t even know what I thought. But thank you. For being decent. And honest.”
Kevin’s smile returned, smaller this time. He turned back to face Danny.
Danny hesitated. “Do you… do you know what you want?”
Kevin’s shoulders rose and fell, then he gave a slow nod. “I’m figuring it out. Every day I’m here, I learn more. I’m not ready yet, but… I think I’d like a Mommy someday.”
Danny blinked. “Really?”
