apple picking

Paedyn

I tip my head back, squinting through the golden leaves as I call, "Adrian, don't climb any higher!"

"But Mom, you said you climbed roofs and chimneys and jumped from them," he responds. I groan, regretting telling him about the days of Loot. 

"That was different," I call back. "I was older than you, and—"

"—reckless," Kai finishes for me, his tone teasing as he steadies the ladder with one large hand.

I turn to glare at him, but he only smirks, storm-grey eyes glinting beneath the dappled sunlight. "You're not helping," I mutter.

"On the contrary," he says, "I'm setting a great example. See, Adrian, your mother is not to be trusted with heights."

"You literally fell from a willow tree when you tried to climb it," I point out. 

I lift an apple from the basket, toss it lightly in the air, and catch it again.  

Adrian finally climbs down, clutching an apple so big it nearly fills both his hands. "I got the best one!" he announces proudly.

Ava squeals, toddling forward with her arms out. "Mine! Mine!"

"Yours?" Kai echoes, scooping her up before she can start another toddler brawl. She squeaks with delight, grabbing at his hair.

Ava just giggles, clutching the apple Adrian handed her like it's treasure.

Kit plops down beside the basket, legs crossed, cheeks flushed from the cold. "We have enough to make pie now," she declares. "Right, Mom?"

I smile, brushing a strand of hair from my face. "If you don't eat half of them first, then yes."

Kit grins, the dimple in her left cheek a perfect mirror of her father's. 

Kai

By the time we get home, the kitchen smells like apples and cinnamon. The baskets are stacked on the counter.

Ava sits on the floor with a wooden spoon, drumming against a mixing bowl like it's her new favorite instrument. Adrian's perched on a stool beside Paedyn, trying to help her slice apples — which mostly means stealing pieces when he thinks she isn't looking.

She notices, of course. She always does. "That's your third one," she warns without glancing up.

He grins around a mouthful. "Fourth," he corrects proudly.

"Are you going to help, or just stand there looking smug?" she asks without turning around.

"I'm supervising," I say. "It's an important royal duty. And a little Psychic once taught me how to observe."

She snorts.

"Mom, tell us the apple story again," Adrian demands. 

Paedyn laughs. 

"Well. Your father was trying to chase after me, and he chained us together so I couldn't run away, and a few days later, he was eating an apple with me tied up because I tried to... tickle him with my dagger, and he was feeding me an apple, and then I tried to bite his fingers when he fed me," Paedyn says.

"Like this?" Adrian holds out an apple to Pae's mouth and she snatches it with her teeth and pretends to bite his fingers gently. He squeals and Pae wraps him in a tight hug.

"Mom, Uncle Jax says that Daddy still ties you up," Kit says. 

For a split second, the kitchen goes dead quiet. 

Paedyn blinks. Once. Twice. Her mouth opens, then closes again.

I choke on absolutely nothing. "What?" I manage, my voice cracking halfway between disbelief and laughter.

Kit looks up innocently, swinging her legs. "Uncle Jax said it! He said Daddy still ties you up sometimes!"

Paedyn turns slowly toward me, eyes narrowing like she's about to throw the rolling pin. "Did he now."

I raise both hands in surrender. "I swear, I haven't said a word to him."

Her expression doesn't soften. "Mhm."

"Paedyn," I warn, fighting the grin tugging at my mouth, "don't you dare—"

She cuts me off with a sweet, dangerous smile. "You're the one explaining that to them."

Kit blinks. "Explaining what?"

"Nothing!" we say in unison — maybe a little too fast.

Ava's just giggling again, hitting the bowl with her spoon like she's providing the soundtrack to our suffering.

Paedyn finally bursts out laughing, leaning against the counter for support. It's infectious; before long, even I'm laughing, shaking my head.

"Uncle Jax is never babysitting again," I mutter.

Adrian finishes putting the apples into the pie and holds it out proudly.

"Good job, Adrian," I ruffle his hair and carefully put it in the oven. 

Paedyn

We all gather around the kitchen island, the warm aroma of apples and cinnamon filling the air. Ava climbs onto my hip, still drumming her spoon on the bowl, and I press a kiss to her temple.

Kit and Adrian sneak little tastes of the pie filling while we wait for it to bake, and I catch them mid-lick. "Hey! That's cheating!" I scold, laughing.

"They're just taste-testing," Kai defends, smirking at me.

When the timer dings, we crowd around the oven, as Kai pulls the steaming pie out and setting it on the counter. Ava claps her tiny hands, Kit grins from ear to ear, and Adrian proudly declares, "Best apple pie ever!"

Kai and I exchange a look, quiet and full of love, and I press a soft kiss to his lips. "Yeah," I murmur. "Best apple pie ever... and the best family too."

He chuckles, pressing a kiss to my temple. "Agreed."