"Normal people have couches," Jax said.
"Normal people," Mateo agreed, gesturing at the pit.
Killian's voice came from behind them, flat and matter-of-fact. "This is the couch."
April turned to look at him. He was completely serious.
"I like comfort," he added, like that explained everything.
Caleb immediately claimed the foosball table. "Liam. You and me. Right now."
"I don't—"
"Too late. You're already playing."
Liam sighed but moved to the opposite side, and within seconds the ball was ricocheting steadily across the table.
Dante had found the pool table and was already setting up with the quiet efficiency of someone who knew exactly what he was doing. Jiro drifted that direction, watching.
Mateo headed for what looked like a kitchen pass-through, scouting for more snacks he could distribute.
April drifted toward the wall of games. Behind her, she heard a click.
The overhead lights dimmed smoothly, replaced by warmer accent lighting along the walls.
"Oh," Jax said from near the wall. "That's much better."
April glanced back. He was standing by a control panel, finger still on a switch.
"I'm helping," he announced.
Arthur looked up from where he'd settled on the edge of the couch pit. "Are you."
"Ambient lighting optimization." Jax pressed another button.
Soft music filtered through speakers she couldn’t see, instrumental enough to blur into the room without taking up space.
"See?" Jax said. "Better."
"Acknowledged," Arthur said, which from him was basically applause.
Killian had moved to lean against the back of the couch, watching the room settle.
April returned to the games shelf. There were classics—Monopoly, Scrabble, things that looked both vintage and unused. Then newer boxes, still in shrink wrap.
Her fingers landed on one box in particular. Jenga. New. Unopened. The blocks would still smell like fresh wood. Her chest gave a small, happy flip. Her fingers tightened on the box.
"Found something?" Caleb called from the foosball table, where he was losing to Liam’s calm competence.
April pulled the box down, turning to show the room. "Jenga."
The reaction was immediate.
Jiro looked up from where he'd been watching Dante line up a shot. Mateo emerged from the kitchen area. Even Liam paused mid-game to glance over.
"New box," Jax observed, abandoning the light controls to drift closer.
"I played a version once," Caleb said, leaving his foosball paddle spinning. "People wrote stuff on the blocks. Made it more interesting."
