"You agreed too quickly."
"I panicked."
Haley stared at Gael from the passenger seat while he drove toward her house later that afternoon.
"You voluntarily said yes to helping my dad build an entertainnt unit."
"In fairness, he sounded committed."
"That's how he traps people."
Gael laughed quietly.
Honestly, part of him had panicked.
Not because of Phil.
Because staying in the apartnt all day with Haley curled against him was becoming dangerously addictive.
Leaving had felt healthier.
Probably.
"Also," Haley continued, "there's like a thirty percent chance Dad accidentally electrocutes soone."
"That number feels low."
"Fair."
The mont they stepped through the front door, Phil appeared from the hallway carrying a toolbox with terrifying confidence.
"My favorite financially responsible teenager!"
"That title sohow sounds insulting."
"It's admiration."
Claire's voice drifted from the kitchen imdiately afterward.
"Phil, don't hand him power tools before explaining your plan."
"Wow," Phil replied. "No trust."
"You once assembled a bookshelf backward."
"It was avant-garde."
Haley dropped onto the couch while Gael followed Phil toward the living room where wooden boards and instruction manuals already covered most of the floor.
Interesting.
The "entertainnt unit" looked large enough to legally qualify as architecture.
"You bought an entire dia center," Gael observed carefully.
Phil pointed proudly.
"Expansion mindset."
"That's not what that phrase ans."
"It ans confidence."
Gael crouched beside the instruction manual while Phil hovered nearby with the energy of a man preparing for battle.
Honestly?
This was weirdly enjoyable.
Not the furniture assembly.
God no.
But the atmosphere:
voices drifting through the house,
Luke yelling upstairs,
Claire moving around the kitchen,
Haley occasionally wandering in just to distract him intentionally.
Normal family noise.
"You know," Claire said while entering with drinks a while later, "most eighteen-year-olds don't willingly spend Sundays assembling furniture."
Phil looked triumphant imdiately.
"See? Mature."
"Or emotionally manipulated," Haley called from the couch.
"Both can be true," Alex added while walking through the room holding a book.
Gael looked up toward her.
"Do you people travel in groups naturally?"
"We're like raccoons," Alex answered. "Emotionally invasive."
"That explains a lot actually."
Claire laughed softly while setting drinks down near the half-built entertainnt unit.
Then paused briefly while looking at the current state of the project.
"…Why is that panel upside down?"
Phil froze.
Gael slowly closed his eyes.
"Phil."
"It looked symtrical."
"That is not how instructions work."
Haley burst out laughing from the couch while Luke wandered downstairs holding chips.
"Are we building furniture or losing morale?"
"Both," Alex answered imdiately.
The next hour dissolved into complete chaos.
Phil misplaced screws.
Luke kept spinning in the unfinished swivel chair that ca with the setup.
Alex corrected people without looking up from her book.
Haley distracted Gael every five minutes by stealing tools or leaning against him dramatically.
At one point she wandered over and wrapped both arms loosely around his shoulders from behind while he tightened bolts into place.
"You're sweaty," she inford him.
"That's because your father bought industrial engineering disguised as furniture."
"Still cute."
Phil pointed imdiately.
"See? Supportive relationship."
"Dad, please stop narrating my life."
"I'm appreciating healthy romance."
Claire physically covered her face with one hand.
Honestly, watching Claire react to Phil's complete lack of boundaries was becoming one of Gael's favorite things.
Especially because half the ti she looked exhausted and fond simultaneously.
"You know what's weird?" Luke asked suddenly.
"That phrase should require governnt approval," Alex muttered.
Luke pointed toward Gael.
"He acts more like an adult here than Dad does."
Silence.
Then Claire laughed before she could stop herself.
Phil looked betrayed.
"Wow."
"That was reflexive," Claire admitted imdiately.
"Honest reflexes," Alex corrected.
Gael hid a smile while tightening another screw into place.
By early evening, the entertainnt unit finally stood assembled against the living room wall.
Mostly correctly.
Probably.
Phil stepped back proudly with his hands on his hips.
"We built this together."
"You mostly handed tools."
"That's leadership."
Haley walked over beside Gael and leaned lightly into his side while examining the finished unit.
"Honestly? It looks good."
Phil looked deeply emotional at the praise.
"Thank you."
Then one shelf inside the unit tilted slightly sideways.
Everyone stared at it.
A long pause followed.
Phil pointed accusingly at the furniture.
"That feels negative."
Luke imdiately started laughing hard enough to collapse onto the couch.
Claire closed her eyes briefly.
"I knew we should've paid soone."
Gael shook his head quietly while Haley buried her face against his shoulder laughing.
And sohow—
standing there surrounded by crooked shelves, family noise, and complete chaos—
felt weirdly perfect anyway.
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