[Sophie’s POV]

Six months old.

Maggie sits propped against pillows on our bed, batting at a stuffed elephant Cleo gave her, making sounds that are increasingly close to actual words. She’s discovered her feet recently, which provides endless entertainment—for her and for the three adults who watch her with undisguised adoration. The morning light fills our bedroom with gold, painting her downy hair in shades of amber, and I let myself sink into the moment.

But beneath the contentment, a plan is forming.

We’ve spent six months in survival mode—lawsuits and DNA tests and the endless demands of new parenthood. Six months of exhaustion and anxiety and stolen moments of joy. We’ve earned something more than survival. We’ve earned a celebration.

“Cleo’s taking Maggie tonight,” I announce, keeping my voice casual as I watch both men freeze mid-motion. Adrian’s coffee cup pauses halfway to his lips. Cassian looks up from his phone with an expression of barely concealed alarm.

“She’s what?” Adrian asks.

“Taking Maggie. For the whole night. She’s been begging for auntie time, and I finally said yes.” I let a slow smile spread across my face, watching realization dawn on their features. “Which means we have the apartment to ourselves. For the first time in six months.”

The silence that follows is charged, electric. I can see the calculations happening behind their eyes—the sudden awareness of possibilities that have been impossible since Maggie’s arrival.

“Sophie…” Cassian’s voice is carefully controlled, but I can see the heat flickering beneath his composure. “What exactly are you suggesting?”

“I’m suggesting—” I rise from the bed and cross to where they’re both standing, feeling the weight of their attention like a physical touch, “—that we remember what it feels like to be more than just exhausted parents. That we spend one night being… us.”

Adrian sets down his coffee with deliberate care. When his eyes meet mine, they’re dark with an intensity I haven’t seen since before Maggie was born. “Are you sure? It’s only been six months since—”

“I’m sure.” I reach up to touch his face, then turn to include Cassian in my gaze. “I’ve missed you. Both of you. Not just as partners and co-parents, but as… this. What we are when the world goes away.”

The anticipation builds throughout the day, a slow simmer that heats my blood every time our eyes meet. Cleo arrives at five, armed with enough supplies to sustain a small army, and whisks Maggie away with promises to call if anything—anything at all—comes up.

The door closes behind them, and the apartment falls silent.

For a moment, none of us moves. The quiet feels strange, almost unnatural after months of baby sounds and constant vigilance. Then Adrian crosses to me, his hand finding my waist, and suddenly the silence becomes something else entirely.

“I’ve missed this,” he murmurs against my hair. “Missed you. Missed having time to just… be with you.”

Cassian approaches from behind, his chest warm against my back, and I’m surrounded by them—held between two bodies that know mine intimately, two hearts that beat in rhythm with my own. The sensation is overwhelming after so long, my nerve endings firing with forgotten intensity.

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