"happy birthday, love." adeline whispered in andrews ear. the woman watched him wake up from his sleep at the sound of her voice.
a grin pulled at his features. "thank you, angel."
adeline pressed a kiss to andrews cheek, then his nose, and finally his lips. his eyes squinted slightly as he grinned, his dimples showing promptly. it was a sight adeline could never see herself getting tired of.
andrew looked at the time on his phone before snuggling back under the covers with his girl. he knew rosalia was going to make her appearance any second now. he smiled at adeline, the woman mirroring the action. "three, two, on—"
"it's your birthday!" rosalia screamed at the top of her lungs, opening their bedroom door in a hurry. the child was quick to climb into the bed, jumping under the covers, leaving only her head sticking out.
adeline and andrew couldn't withhold the laughs that fell from their lips at the sight of the silly child with the biggest grin on her lips.
"good morning to you, miss rosalia." adeline went to tickle the child. rosalia let out a string of giggles, turning towards her father to get as far from adeline as possible.
andrew wrapped his arms around his daughter, sending adeline a playful look to which the woman simply smiling in return. rosalia was quiet for a moment, fumbling with the chains that rested around andrews neck.
"daddy, you're getting old." rosalia said bluntly, feeling andrew play with her curls as she laid in his arms.
andrew laughed, watching adeline shake her head at the child's words with her own laugh. before andrew could reply to his child, the bedroom door opened. rosalia's gaze found the two boys, her dimples showing when another smile formed on her lips.
"isn't daddy getting old?" rosalia questioned zion and brandon playfully. "i think i can see gray hair."
"you think you're funny?" zion tilted his head jokingly.
"no, i know i'm funny." rosalia furrowed her eyebrows, a look of mock betrayal on her face. zion and rosalia had a stare off for a moment before rosalia interrupted with a loud laugh. "i'm kidding, daddy. you still look like a teenager."
"i don't know which one of those is worse." adeline pulled the child from andrews arms, pressing multiple kisses on rosalia's face. rosalia wrapped her arms around adeline's neck. "i love you, rose."
"i love you too." zion spoke up, finding room at the end of the couples bed.
"i love you three." brandon made the shape of a heart with his hands. rosalia rolled her eyes at his dramatics.
"but i love you more than all of them combined and tripled." andrew quirked an eyebrow. rosalia moved from adeline's arms, jumping back into her father's.
"i love you the mostest." rosalia mumbled in his ear. "keep it a secret. don't want them crying on your birthday."
andrew shook his head at his daughter, a laugh slipping past his lips. "god, you are my child."
"how about some pancakes, hmm?" adeline threw the blanket off of herself. zion sent his sister a false glare when the blanket fell over his face.
"chocolate chip ones?" rosalia questioned softly with a knowing look. "and strawberries ones for brandon?"
"we can't have it any other way." brandon nodded along to rosalia, taken back when he felt her small arms wrap around his waist. it took him a moment before he returned the gesture. the situation months ago was still on a constant loop inside his mind. he felt as if it was his fault. had he gotten her to school a few minutes earlier, she would've been inside. safe and sound. he was the last one to see her, last one to keep her safe before her mother decided to take her. brandon blames himself, even after all the talks from zion and adeline that it wasn't. he still felt responsible in a way.
"wanna go swimming after breakfast, b?" rosalia looked up at the boy with a grin. she remembered zions words. she knew brandon blamed himself for what happened. rosalia knew he was the last person to be at fault. she just needed him to see she held no blame towards him.
brandon looked up, meeting zions eyes. zion sent him a thumbs up along with a reassuring smile. his gaze fell back down to the child. "you wanna go swimming with me?"
"duh, justin." rosalia grabbed brandon's hand in hers. brandon rolled his eyes playfully at the mention of the old nickname. "come on, we got to make sure we have strawberries for your pancakes!"
authors note,
i'm literally screaming
