The kitchen was thick with unspoken things.
Ryan stood at the sink pretending he wasn't internally combusting.
Kia sat behind him pretending he wasn't staring like a man trying to memorize his soulmate's heartbeat.
Silence stretched.
Warm… quiet… dangerous.
Then—
"DADDYYYYYY!"
Ava's shriek tore through the house like a battle cry.
Ryan almost dropped the plate.
Kia's chair scraped back instantly as he stood.
Before either adult could react, the kids came charging into the kitchen — a tornado of tiny feet, wild hair, and chaotic energy.
Eli ran straight for Ryan, jumping and wrapping his arms around his waist.
Ava barreled into Kia like she had been launched from a catapult.
"KIA! Look! Look what we did!"
Kia staggered a little but caught her effortlessly, lifting her with a soft laugh.
Ryan blinked, still gripping the wet plate, heart racing for an entirely different reason now.
"What did you two do?" Ryan asked suspiciously.
Eli tightened his hug like he was shielding himself.
Ava proudly lifted something small and glittery toward Kia's face.
Kia squinted.
"…Is that glue?"
"No!" Ava beamed. "It's SPARKLE GLUE!"
Kia's eyes widened in fear.
Ryan sighed. Hard.
"What did you glue?"
Ava lifted her chin proudly.
"My hair!"
Ryan choked. "Your—WHAT?!"
She turned around.
A huge chunk of her curly hair was stuck together in a stiff, sparkling, unmovable clump.
Eli raised his hand timidly.
"It was my idea…"
Ryan rubbed his forehead, suppressing the urge to scream.
Kia laughed — quietly, warmly — trying not to encourage them but failing miserably.
"We're doomed," Ryan muttered.
"No, we're not," Kia said softly, lowering Ava to the floor.
His voice was warm. Calm. Surprisingly gentle.
"Come here, sweetheart. Let me check."
Ava bounced to him immediately.
Eli tugged Ryan's shirt.
"We only wanted to make her hair shine like a princess…"
Ryan's frustration cracked when he heard that.
He looked down at them — small, messy, guilty, adorable.
A sigh escaped him.
"Next time," Ryan said, bending down slightly, "ask me before you glue anything to your heads."
Eli nodded dramatically, as if Ryan had just given them a royal decree.
Ava, meanwhile, sat on Kia's lap as he gently examined the glitter disaster.
"You're not mad?" she asked nervously.
Kia smiled softly.
"Of course not. We'll fix it together, okay?"
Ava grinned, wrapping her small arms around his neck.
Ryan's chest tightened.
Kia looked too natural with them.
Too warm.
Too patient.
Too… family.
He shook the thought away quickly, focusing on untangling Eli from his waist.
But Kia's eyes met his across the table — and Ryan saw something that made his breath catch.
Soft affection.
Warm amusement.
A quiet promise:
We can do this together.
Ryan looked away fast.
He wasn't ready to accept anything like that yet.
Not from Kia.
Not from anyone.
But watching him help Ava gently work through her glitter-glued curls…
A small, uninvited warmth spread in his chest. What a heart he's got, it hasn't learnt it's lesson once