Oscar tugged on West’s sleeve. “He’s a potato.”
West nodded solemnly. “A warm ‘tato.”
Thomas smiled down at Aleksander. “He does look a little potato-like.”
Allister shifted, his grip tightening. “He’s gonna be loud.”
Thomas glanced down. “He won’t always be.”
Allister’s brows knit together. “He’ll cry when it’s dark. Like me.”
Thomas’s face softened.
Aiden felt the shift immediately, the way attention sharpened, the room subtly reorienting around Allister like gravity had changed.
Thomas didn’t react outwardly. He never did with Allister. He stayed calm, grounded. “Right now, he cries because he’s hungry,” he said. “And because everything is new.”
Allister shook his head. “No. He cries because he remembers.”
Silence fell like snow.
Aiden watched Thomas carefully then, watched the calculation, the acceptance, the love, all flicker across his face in the space of a breath.
Thomas didn’t question it. He never dismissed Allister.
“That’s okay,” Thomas said. “We’ll help him.”
Allister leaned into him, reassured. Thomas used his free arm to hug him against him briefly.
Theo chose that moment to scoot closer, silent as a shadow. He reached out, not toward the baby, but toward Thomas’s sleeve, fingers curling there briefly before retreating. Thomas glanced up, caught his eye, and smiled. Just for him.
Theo smiled back. Small. Private.
Aiden swallowed.
He hadn’t known Thomas when he was young. Hadn’t seen the years where love had been transactional, conditional, earned through power and control. But he’d learned enough to know this–this room, this chaos, this softness–was everything Thomas had never been allowed to want.
And now it was his.
Thomas shifted the baby slightly, careful, practiced. “You can all say hello,” he said. “One at a time.”
Ara spoke first, voice solemn. “Hello, Aleksander. I’m your sister.”
Adi leaned in. “We’re very smart. You’ll like us.”
Jagger grinned. “I’ll teach you how to break stuff.”
Jett nodded. “I’ll show you where Grandpa hides the good snacks.”
Thomas snorted.
Oscar waved. “Hi, Baby ‘Lek-san-er.”
West added, “We share toys.”
Allister pressed his forehead briefly to Aleksander’s blanket. “I’ll protect you.”
Theo said nothing. He just sat, watching, absorbing, like he always did.
