𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘, 𝖺 𝗀𝗅𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝖻𝗎𝗆

like old bones (pt. ii)

Three friends. One fire. A fourth heartbeat growing.

The laughter from the courtyard had faded into a comfortable hush.

Luke still leaned precariously on the edge of the old fountain, his arms draped dramatically behind his head. Hugo sat with a half-peeled apple in hand, chewing slowly, the knife glinting in the lantern light. 

Matt had gone quiet, quieter than usual and now sat behind Vicky, legs on either side of her, his chin resting lightly on her shoulder.

His hands, rough and calloused, were gently curved over the slight swell of her stomach.

Not noticeable yet. But real.

Their secret. For now.

Luke caught the motion out of the corner of his eye, and his grin shifted — softened.

"So when do we start betting on whether the kid's gonna have Matt's scowl or Vicky's death glare?"

Matt didn't look up. "You'll be dead before either."

"Aw," Luke sighed dreamily. "He loves me."

Vicky chuckled and leaned back into Matt, resting her head against his chest.

"They're going to have your stubbornness," she murmured. "That's the real problem."

"You're one to talk," Hugo muttered.

"You all think I'm bad now," Vicky said with a sleepy smirk, "wait 'til I'm eight months in and you run out of peaches."

Matt chuckled lowly in her ear.

There was something about the moment, the warmth of it, that made Luke unexpectedly quiet. He looked around at the stone courtyard, the broken fountain, the stars peeking through the cracked ceiling. And then at them — his brothers, his friend, the life growing in their midst.

"Never thought I'd see this," Luke said quietly. "Us, here. With a future."

Hugo nodded. "Neither did I."

Matt didn't speak, but he pulled Vicky closer, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

Vicky placed her hand over his, both of them resting on her belly now and whispered, "You made me believe it was possible."

And no one argued.

Because in the middle of war, ruin, and all the things they'd lost — they'd built this.

Hope. Family. A reason to keep fighting.