Never Not You

War is on

A/N: not the longest chapter but a chapter nonetheless
I didn't actually know how to explain it so it ends where it ends and maybe in another chapter I'll do it or I'll just let you guys think how they did it yourselves

Back home, peace was short-lived.

Leah had barely taken her shoes off when the great injustice of the afternoon presented itself in full toddler fury.

"No, Mama!" Mateo stomped his tiny socked foot on the kitchen tile, clutching the ultrasound photo in his hand like it was a legal document. "Go frid! Baby go frid!"

Leah sighed, crouching down to his level, arms braced on her knees. "Teo, I said we'd put it on the fridge. I want to, okay? But—Nanny and Grandad just texted. They're coming over soon. And we haven't told them about the baby yet."

Mateo's curls bounced as he shook his head furiously. "Nooo. You said! You say 'go frid!' Put baby next dino-rocket!"

Leah scrubbed a hand over her face. "I know what I said, little man, but listen—this is a surprise, remember? We can't tell anyone yet."

Mateo blinked at her, breathing hard, clearly trying to process this information with the emotional logic of a one-year-old who had just met his sibling and expected honor and fridge space immediately.

"I tell," he said. "I tell Nanny. Say, 'Look! My baby!'" He held up the photo proudly, the corner slightly bent now.

"No, Mateo, that's the problem, we can't tell them yet!" Leah's voice rose slightly in desperation. "We're keeping the baby a secret for now. You remember what a secret is, yeah?"

Mateo's face crumpled like a piece of paper. "But... baby sad! Baby wanna go frid!" His lip wobbled.

From across the room, Aurora stood at the counter, sipping her fanta and not helping. She watched the entire exchange with far too much amusement, eyebrows lifted like she was observing a very high-stakes debate in Parliament.

"'Rory," Leah hissed through her teeth. "Anytime now would be great."

But Aurora only raised her can slightly in mock-toast. "I'm sorry, who's the one who made fridge promises?"

Leah shot her a murderous glare, but before she could say anything else, Mateo gave a sniffle—and that was the breaking point. His whole tiny face collapsed as he turned to the photo clutched in his hand.

"Baby no get frid..." he whimpered. "Baby fink Teo not love dem..."

"Oh my god," Leah groaned, standing and dragging her hands through her hair. "Why are you emotionally blackmailing me with an ultrasound?"

Aurora coughed to cover a laugh.

Leah looked at her again, more desperate this time. "Please."

Finally—finally—Aurora walked over, crouching down beside their son, who was now hugging the photo to his chest like it was a sad letter from someone going off to war.

"Ay, mi corazón," she said softly. "Listen... how about this? We don't put baby on the fridge yet. But we do let baby sleep on your bedside table tonight. So baby's still close. And then... when Nanny and Grandad do know, we all put baby on the fridge together."

Mateo sniffed again, uncertain. "Baby no mad?"

"Baby's not mad," Leah said, gently brushing his curls back. "Baby's just... sneaky. Like a ninja. And we're the ninja team."

"Nin-ja team?"

"Exactly," Aurora said, tapping his nose. "Team Mateo. With the secret baby mission."

Mateo looked between them, eyes still suspiciously wet, but slowly—slowly—his grip on the photo relaxed just a little.