The moment Sasha stepped into the house, he kicked his sneakers off and padded into the living room, still humming faintly to himself.

Brie and Harper were curled up together on the big pink couch, a blanket draped over their legs and a bowl of popcorn nestled between them as some late-night drama flickered on the TV.

Both of them glanced up as their baby brother plopped onto the couch beside them, his tote bag sliding to the floor.

“I’m hooooome~” Sasha sing-songed, grinning as he scooped up a handful of popcorn without asking.

Brie squinted at him. “You’re awfully chipper. What’s up with you?”

Harper smirked faintly. “Let me guess. Grumpy’s back?”

Sasha gasped, cheeks flushing faintly pink as he nearly choked on a piece of popcorn. “I-I didn’t say anything!”

Brie just arched a brow, unimpressed. “You didn’t have to. You’ve got that stupid little grin on your face. So?”

Sasha wiggled in his seat, hugging a pillow to his chest, his legs folded up beneath him.

“He was there,” Sasha admitted shyly, giggling softly. “I mean— I didn’t know he was gonna be, but then— then I saw him. And he looked sooo grumpy, like always, but also like… like maybe he was surprised to see me? Which is silly, right?”

Brie and Harper exchanged a knowing look, but didn’t interrupt as Sasha launched into his full recounting.

“And then,” Sasha continued dramatically, “I told him it was nice to see him and he said he regretted coming, but he was lying! You could tell.” He giggled again, burying his face in the pillow for a moment.

Harper snorted. “Uh huh. And then what, baby boy?”

Sasha lifted his head, beaming. “Then I made him stay with me! We shared my booth again and he glared at me a lot, but then he just… stayed. And then Collins came by and said his name—”

“Dominic,” Brie supplied dryly.

“Uh-huh! Dominic. And—” Sasha giggled even harder here, wiggling like a happy little bunny under their unimpressed gazes. “—I told him his name suits him! Like… Grumpy Dominic. Grumpy Dom! He didn’t like that.”

Brie let out a quiet sigh. Harper popped another piece of popcorn in her mouth, grinning faintly.

“And then,” Sasha finished proudly, “he dropped me off again. But he didn’t even ask for my number, so I just… took his phone and put it in myself.”

Brie groaned, rubbing her face. “Oh my god. Sasha…”

Sasha blinked at her with wide, innocent brown eyes.

Harper finally spoke up, voice soft but teasing. “Baby, are you sure he even likes you? Or are you just… annoying the poor guy into submission?”

Sasha tilted his head, genuinely puzzled. “…He didn’t tell me to go away. That counts, right?”

Brie groaned again, sinking deeper into the couch.

Harper giggled softly and reached over to pinch Sasha’s cheek. “You are so lucky you’re cute,” she murmured.

Sasha just smiled sheepishly, kicking his feet a little.

Brie finally sat up a bit, fixing him with a serious look.

“Just… be careful, okay? He’s older. And clearly not the friendly type. You don’t really know him, Sash. Don’t go throwing yourself at someone just because they let you sit there and eat cake.”

Sasha blinked slowly, processing. Then nodded once, still smiling faintly.

“Okay,” he said softly, clearly not understanding.

Brie groaned and flopped back onto Harper’s shoulder.

Harper just shook her head and ruffled Sasha’s hair affectionately. “You’re hopeless. And adorable. But hopeless.”

Sasha giggled, snuggling against the pillow again, his voice muffled as he murmured:

“…But he let me sing in his car…”

Brie just groaned louder into the blanket while Harper tried (and failed) to hide her laugh.

And Sasha sat there in his own little happy daze, already thinking about the next time he’d see Grumpy Dominic again.

The next day, Sasha woke up at 7am sharp, the sunlight streaming through the window doing little to brighten his mood. Alone in the house, the silence stretched out like a heavy blanket, and boredom crept in fast.

By 7:15am, he had already made a fortress out of every pillow and blanket he could find on the couch, declaring it “The Ultimate Chill Zone,” only to immediately regret the choice when he got stuck trying to crawl inside it.

At 8am, he attempted to bake pancakes but ended up mixing salt instead of sugar into the batter. The resulting disaster made him dramatically declare, “Culinary arts are clearly not my destiny.”

By 9:30am, he had tried to teach his reflection some dance moves—complete with exaggerated hand gestures and ridiculous facial expressions—but the mirror offered no applause, only silent judgment.

At 10:45am, Sasha tried writing a poem about “Grumpy Dominic’s mysterious charm,” but after two lines, he crumpled the paper and sighed, “Poetry is hard when your muse is a grump.”

By 12pm, he’d rewatched his favorite comedy show three times, laughing louder each time, but the laughs quickly faded as he realized it was the same jokes over and over.

At 1:20pm, he made a “Top Ten Reasons Why Grumpy Dominic is Actually Cute” list, but halfway through he tore it up, deciding some things were better left unsaid.

Finally, at 2pm, Sasha grabbed his phone, fingers trembling with nerves and hope, and typed out a simple message:

🍫 Baby Sasha the Sweetest🍼: r u busy? 🍼💖

He stared at the screen, heart pounding, fingers hovering over send…