Wednesday evening at the house was supposed to be productive.
That was the official plan, anyway.
Instead:
Luke complained about fractions,
Phil locked himself outside taking out recycling,
and Haley had spent the last fifteen minutes distracting Gael while he tried helping with howork.
"I still think fractions are scams," Luke announced dramatically from the dining table.
"You're literally holding a calculator," Alex replied without sympathy.
"It judges ."
Gael sat beside Luke with a pencil in one hand while Haley leaned lazily against his shoulder scrolling through her phone.
"You're not helping," he told her quietly.
"I'm emotionally supporting."
"You're reading celebrity gossip."
"That is emotional support."
Across the kitchen, Claire tried unsuccessfully not to smile while putting groceries away.
The whole room buzzed with overlapping noise:
cabinets opening,
Luke complaining,
Phil yelling faintly from outside about being "abandoned by society."
Normal evening chaos.
Phil finally re-entered through the back door carrying recycling with wounded dignity.
"No one heard my cries for help."
"You were outside for four minutes," Claire replied.
"It was significant."
Gael laughed quietly while Luke pointed accusingly at the worksheet.
"I still don't understand why numbers need fractions. Just beco whole numbers."
"That explains your grades," Alex answered.
"Harsh," Haley muttered.
"Accurate," Alex corrected.
Claire walked over a few minutes later carrying drinks.
Without really thinking about it, she placed Gael's coffee beside him exactly how he liked it.
No sugar.
Small amount of cream.
Then paused slightly afterward when she realized what she'd done.
Haley noticed imdiately.
"Oh my God," she said, grinning. "You customized his coffee."
Claire looked up defensively.
"It's basic observation."
"That's what emotionally attached people say," Alex muttered without looking up from her notes.
"This family needs boundaries."
"Too late," Phil answered proudly.
Gael hid a smile behind the coffee cup while Claire shook her head at herself.
Honestly, the funniest part was how accidental it seed.
Like she genuinely hadn't realized she'd morized it already.
"You disappeared into your head again," Haley murmured.
"I'm helping Luke."
"No you're not. You're holding just the pencil."
Luke looked down at the worksheet.
"…Wait, she's right."
Gael stared at both siblings in betrayal.
"This house destroys concentration."
"Correct," Alex answered imdiately.
Eventually Luke wandered off after declaring math "scam" leaving Gael alone at the dining table with Alex while Haley disappeared upstairs to "borrow" clothes from Claire again.
Which apparently happened often enough now that nobody reacted anymore.
"You act less guarded now," Alex asked while reorganizing papers beside him.
Gael glanced sideways slightly.
"That sounds psychological."
"It is psychological."
Alex leaned back in her chair.
"When Haley first brought you here, you used to watch conversations before joining them."
"You analyzed everybody at first," she continued casually. "Now you interrupt Dad like the rest of us."
"That's adaptation."
Gael smirked faintly.
"Fair."
The conversation settled into quieter rhythm after that.
Alex had beco easier to talk to lately.
Still sharp.
Still analytical.
But less defensive around him now.
"You know Mom likes you, right?" Alex asked suddenly while highlighting sothing in her notes.
Gael narrowed his eyes imdiately.
"Why does everyone in this family keep saying that?"
"Because she's picky about people."
Simple answer.
Matter-of-fact.
Coming from Alex, it sounded less like teasing and more like observation.
Before Gael could answer, Haley reappeared wearing one of Claire's sweaters triumphantly.
"She said I could steal this."
Claire's voice echoed instantly from upstairs.
"I said borrow!"
"Sa thing!"
"It is absolutely not the sa thing!"
Gael laughed quietly while Alex shook her head in tired resignation.
Then Haley walked over and dropped directly into his lap without warning.
"You're warm."
"That felt targeted."
"You love ."
"That's unrelated."
Haley grinned against his shoulder while Phil wandered back into the dining room holding a screwdriver for reasons nobody trusted.
And sohow the evening kept dissolving into the sa familiar rhythm:
argunts,
interruptions,
people talking over each other,
Claire yelling upstairs about missing sweaters,
Luke sohow returning with chips again.
ssy.
Loud.
Comfortable.
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