The gate creaked open, and Dominic’s first glimpse of Sasha stopped him cold.

No—froze him to the damn pavement.

Because Sasha came bounding out like a little sugar-swirled storm, all fluff and bounce and brightness.

And… good God.

He wore the tiniest skirt-short thing Dominic had ever seen — pleated just so, with enough swish to make the smooth curve of his thighs catch the afternoon sun, but when he moved, Dominic caught the faint snug shorts underneath that made his stomach… drop.

A cropped hoodie hugged his little frame, the hem riding up high enough to show his soft belly, faint and adorable, with a little dip of a belly button right in the center. His socks stretched up to his knees, white and ribbed, and the finishing blow?

Those ridiculous fluffy slippers. With bear faces on them.

Dominic had seen a lot of things in his life.

He’d seen money, power, danger.

But nothing — nothing — had ever left him as fucking awed as the sight of that baby-pink sugarcube running barefoot across his driveway like nothing was wrong with the world.

And the worst part?

The boy didn’t even notice.

Didn’t notice how Dominic’s chest tightened, how his throat went dry, how far his mind wandered — deep, dark thoughts of how soft he must feel under his palms, of how dangerous it was to let himself look too long.

Instead, Sasha just lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw him.

“Beaaaaar!” he squealed happily, tugging the gate open wider. “Come in, come in! Don’t just stand there being all scary and broody! You’re letting all the brownies get cold!”

Dominic blinked, his hands shoving into his coat pockets just to keep from doing anything stupid, as Sasha reached up and grabbed his sleeve like it was nothing.

“Do you like brownies? Of course you don’t, you’re always glary and grumbly like you don’t even know what sugar is— but that’s okay because I made them anyway! I even sprinkled a little salt on top ‘cause Harper says it’s fancy when you do that! You’re fancy, right? You wear fancy shirts.”

Dominic didn’t say a word. He let himself be tugged through the gate like some big, silent animal, trying and failing not to glance back at the garden as Sasha chattered.

The yard… was beautiful.

Flowers in every color spilled out of neat beds — roses and tulips and something faintly lavender, climbing vines wrapping gracefully around the posts of the porch.

Sasha caught him looking.

“Pretty, right?” he said with a grin, his voice soft for just a second. “Brie planted most of ‘em. I just water them when I remember.”

Dominic glanced at him from the corner of his eye. He didn’t say it out loud, but… yeah.

Pretty.

And not just the flowers.

Sasha giggled at the silence anyway and tugged harder on his sleeve.

“C’mon, Bear, don’t get lost staring at the plants like an old man. You’re here for me, remember? Don’t pretend otherwise!”

Dominic’s jaw twitched.

God, this boy…

The moment the front door opened, the smell of sweet chocolate and sugar and something warm hit him square in the chest.

The inside of the house was…

…like nothing he’d ever seen.

Fancy and extravagant, but somehow soft at the edges — soft blues and pinks on the big sectional couch, heart-shaped throw pillows scattered everywhere. The windows gleamed white and airy, draped in delicate lace curtains.

It was girly. Sweet. Obnoxiously Sasha.

And it smelled incredible.

“Don’t just stand there!” Sasha scolded him with a little swat to his arm. “Shoes off, Bear! No dirtying my sisters’ nice rug! God, you’re so clueless sometimes…”

Dominic grunted and toed his boots off without a word.

Sasha beamed like he’d just won something and darted ahead, his skirt swishing as he disappeared into the kitchen.

“I put the brownies on the counter already! Don’t even try saying you don’t want one, ‘cause I’ll just pout and guilt-trip you ‘til you cave!”

Dominic exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down his face as he looked around the ridiculous little house again.

It was… cozy.

Warm.

Annoyingly bright.

Like the boy who lived in it.

And for a moment — just a moment — he wondered what it would feel like to stay.

To sit on that stupid heart-shaped pillow and let the baby bear crawl into his lap with chocolate crumbs all over his lips.

He shoved the thought down as Sasha’s head popped back around the corner, grinning wide.

“Well?! Are you excited yet?”

Dominic just glared.

Sasha only giggled, bouncing on his slippered toes.

“Liar,” he teased.

And all Dominic could think — as he followed Sasha into that warm, sugary kitchen — was that he’d never been so dangerously close to smiling in his life.

---

Dominic followed Sasha into the kitchen reluctantly, his towering frame seeming almost too big for the pastel-bright room. He barely sat down before Sasha started fussing, tugging him by the wrist toward one of the high chairs at the island.

“Sit, sit! Don’t just stand around like a scary bodyguard or something. Jeez, you’re like… big, dark, and broody even in my kitchen. Here—” Sasha pushed at his shoulder until he finally sat. “Good bear. Stay.”

Dominic’s dark eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t move.

The faintest smirk tugged at Sasha’s lips as he skipped to the counter, busying himself with plating the brownies.

Just then, soft footsteps padded into the kitchen doorway.

“Who’s making all the noise—”

Harper froze mid-step.

Her eyes landed squarely on Dominic.

Her jaw dropped.

Holy. Hell.

That’s Dominic?

That’s the grumpy, intimidating, always-glowering man her baby brother kept talking about?!

That’s the man sitting at their kitchen island like he owned the place?

Her gaze swept up from his sharp, tailored coat and broad shoulders to his dark, cutting stare, the way he sat there with this… quiet, simmering presence that filled the whole damn room.

And he was real? In their house?

Oh, Brie was going to lose her mind when she heard about this.

Harper blinked rapidly, recovering just enough to give the faintest little smile.

“Well… hi,” she said. “I take it you’re Dominic?”

Dominic glanced at her coolly, dipping his chin in acknowledgment before looking right back at Sasha, completely dismissing her presence as though she were just a plant in the corner.

Harper blinked again.

Damn. He was fine… and rude.

Of course.

She crossed her arms and leaned against the counter, watching Sasha giggle to himself as he finished arranging the brownies.

“You’re in our kitchen,” Harper deadpanned after a beat, “and you barely even say hi? Cool. Love that for you.”

Dominic didn’t bother answering, his attention fixed instead on the little twink bouncing back over to him with a plate of brownies.

“Okay, okay, try them! I swear I didn’t burn them this time— well, just a little on the edges, but that’s the best part! Here, I even got you milk. Don’t glare. You’ll love them. Promise.”

Dominic scowled faintly at the plate but didn’t move as Sasha pushed it closer to him.

“Go on! Eat!”

Before Dominic could even protest, Harper swooped in and grabbed Sasha by the hoodie sleeve.

“Come here, sugarcube,” she muttered, dragging him to the far corner of the kitchen.

Sasha squeaked and shuffled after her, his fluffy slippers making soft little sounds on the tile.

“Hey— what? What is it? He’s gonna eat the brownies, I swear he will—”

Harper crouched a little to meet his eyes, her own narrowing.

“You mean to tell me,” she hissed quietly, “that that—” she jabbed a finger toward Dominic, who sat patiently on the stool like a king waiting for his servant “—is the grumpy bear you’ve been texting at 2AM?!”

Sasha blinked innocently, cheeks turning pink.

“…He’s not that grumpy,” he mumbled, fiddling with the hem of his hoodie.

Harper gawked at him, then glanced back at Dominic.

The man was now calmly picking up a brownie, inspecting it with faint distaste before taking a slow, deliberate bite.

“Holy shit,” Harper whispered under her breath, “he’s even hotter in person.”

Sasha giggled softly, peeking up at her through his lashes.

“He’s… nice. Sort of. You just have to get past the glaring. And the… the growling. And the scary eyebrows…”

Harper rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the faint grin tugging at her lips.

“You’re insane,” she muttered, tugging on his cheek affectionately before shoving him back toward the island.S

asha skipped back with a little giggle, sliding into the stool next to Dominic and resting his chin in his hand, watching him eat with bright, expectant eyes.

“Well?” Sasha asked. “Do you like them? You look like you’re pretending not to like them but actually you’re melting inside. Admit it.”

Dominic didn’t answer.

But he didn’t spit it out either.

And for Sasha… that was enough to make him beam.