Keifer was finally better.
Three days of sneezing, complaining about pills, and being aggressively cuddled by Jay had done the trick. He was back to normal—steady, protective, annoyingly handsome.
But something had shifted.
Jay had spent those three days taking care of him. Being the responsible one. The adult. The person who made sure he took his medicine and drank his water and didn't die of a common cold.
It was exhausting.
And now that he was better?
She wanted to be taken care of.
Not in a big way. Not in a dramatic way. Just… small things. Little moments. The kind of soft attention she never let herself ask for.
The problem was, Jay didn't know how to ask.
She was so used to being the strong one. The CEO. The person everyone leaned on. The idea of admitting she wanted to be babied a little felt… embarrassing.
So instead, she just started acting… different.
It started at breakfast.
Jay sat beside Keifer, staring at her plate. Tita Gema had made her favorite—tapsilog, perfectly cooked, exactly the way she liked it.
She poked at the rice with her fork.
Keifer noticed immediately. "You okay?"
Jay: "Fine."
Keifer: "You're not eating."
Jay: "I'm eating."
Keifer: "You're poking it."
Jay: "Poking is a form of eating."
Keifer: "It's really not."
Jay: "It could be."
Keifer raised an eyebrow.
Jay poked harder.
Keifer watched her for a moment, then reached over and cut her egg for her.
Jay blinked. "What are you doing?"
Keifer: "Helping."
Jay: "I can cut my own egg."
Keifer: "I know." He slid the plate back to her. "But you didn't want to."
Jay stared at the perfectly cut egg.
Then, quietly: "Thanks."
Keifer smiled. "Tss. Cute."
Jay's heart did a thing.
Mica, across the table, noticed. She nudged Rakki. "Something's different about Jay today."
Rakki looked. "She's… softer?"
Mica: "Yeah. Like, less CEO, more…"
Rakki: "Baby?"
Mica: "That's the word."
Ci-n: "SISTER JAY IS IN BABY MODE? I SUPPORT BABY MODE!"
Rakki: "Ci-n, inside voice."
Ci-n: "THIS IS MY INSIDE VOICE!"
Rakki: "That's terrifying."
Throughout the morning, the pattern continued.
Jay, who usually handled everything herself, started doing small things—asking for help, waiting for someone else to take the lead, looking at Keifer with wide eyes when she couldn't reach something on a high shelf.
Keifer noticed immediately.
He always noticed.
At one point, Jay was trying to open a jar of something in the kitchen. She twisted. She turned. She made a small frustrated sound.
Keifer appeared behind her, reaching around to take the jar.
"Let me."
Jay: "I can do it."
Keifer: "I know." He opened it easily. "But you don't have to."
Jay looked at him.
He handed the jar back. "Tss. There."
Jay's face warmed.
Percy, watching from the doorway: "Did Keifer just call Jay cute?"
Rakki: "He says 'tss' when she's being adorable."
Percy: "THAT'S THE SOUND? THE ONE SHE HAS A THING FOR?"
Mica: "The very same."
Percy: "HE'S WEAPONIZING HER WEAKNESS. THAT'S EITHER ROMANTIC OR MANIPULATIVE."
Keifer: "It's romantic."
Percy: "THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT A MANIPULATIVE PERSON WOULD SAY."
Keifer: "Percy."
Percy: "WHAT?"
Keifer: "Go away."
Percy: "I'M DOCUMENTING."
The afternoon brought more of the same.
Jay, who usually led conversations, found herself trailing off mid-sentence, looking to Keifer to finish. Jay, who usually made decisions, started asking him what he thought. Jay, who usually walked with purpose, found herself drifting closer to him, letting her hand brush against his.
Keifer noticed everything.
And he was enjoying it.
At one point, they were all in the living room. Section E had gathered again—because they always gathered—and chaos reigned as usual.
Ci-n was attempting to teach everyone a new game. It was going poorly. Rakki had given up and was just watching. Mica and Calix were placing bets on how long until Ci-n gave up. Mayo and Kit were critiquing everyone's game faces.
Rory and Edrix were arguing about something technical. Freya was "not watching" them argue. Percy was documenting everything.
Grazel Jay was practicing her flower throwing on anyone who walked past. Keigan and Keiren had become her unwilling assistants.
Grazel Jay: "MORE FLOWERS!"
Keigan: "There are no flowers."
Grazel Jay: "IMAGINARY FLOWERS!"
Keiren: "We're throwing imaginary flowers."
Keigan: "This is my life now."
Denzel: "Acceptance is the first step."
Grace: "The second step is more flowers."
In the middle of it all, Jay sat on the couch, curled up slightly smaller than usual.
Keifer sat beside her, close.
Jay looked at the chaos. Then at him.
"Keifer?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we…" She paused, unsure how to ask. "Can we just… stay here? For a bit?"
Keifer: "We are staying here."
Jay: "I mean—just us. In the chaos. But together."
Keifer smiled softly. "We're always together."
Jay: "I know. But—" She made a small frustrated sound. "I don't know how to explain."
Keifer: "You don't have to explain."
He shifted, pulling her closer, wrapping an arm around her so she could lean against him.
Jay melted into his side.
"This good?"
Jay nodded against his chest.
Keifer kissed her hair. "Tss. So cute."
Jay: "I'm not cute."
Keifer: "You're literally curled up against me like a kitten."
Jay: "Kittens are cool."
Keifer: "Kittens are cute."
Jay: "Same thing."
Keifer: "Not even close."
Jay: "It is in my head."
Keifer: "Your head is adorable."
Jay: "Stop calling me adorable."
Keifer: "Tss. No."
Jay hid her face in his chest.
Mica, watching from across the room: "Jay is literally hiding in Keifer's chest."
Rakki: "That's the softest thing I've ever seen."
Ci-n: "SISTER JAY IS BEING BABY! I LOVE BABY SISTER JAY!"
Rakki: "Ci-n, you're yelling again."
Ci-n: "BABY SISTER JAY REQUIRES YELLING!"
Keifer looked down at Jay, still hiding. "They're all watching."
Jay: "I don't care."
Keifer: "You usually care."
Jay: "I'm in baby mode. Baby mode doesn't care."
Keifer: "Baby mode?"
Jay: "Don't question it."
Keifer: "Tss. Okay."
Jay's heart did a flip.
She peaked up at him. "You're doing that on purpose."
Keifer: "Doing what?"
Jay: "The 'tss' thing."
Keifer: "I don't know what you're talking about."
Jay: "You definitely know."
Keifer: "Tss. Maybe."
Jay: "KEIFER."
Keifer laughed—that warm, low laugh—and kissed her forehead.
"Fine. Maybe I'm doing it on purpose. Maybe I like watching you react."
Jay: "You're evil."
Keifer: "Your evil."
Jay: "Unfortunately."
She settled back against his chest, smiling.
Dinner was more of the same.
Jay, who usually helped Tita Gema with serving, sat at the table and waited. She didn't ask for anything—just looked at the food, then at Keifer, with wide eyes.
Keifer: "What do you want?"
Jay: "The… the thing. With the rice."
Keifer: "The rice?"
Jay: "The rice near you."
Keifer: "You want me to pass the rice?"
Jay: "Yes. Please."
Keifer passed the rice.
Jay: "And the… the meat thing."
Keifer: "The meat thing?"
Jay: "The one that looks good."
Keifer: "They all look good."
Jay: "The one YOU think looks good."
Keifer raised an eyebrow but served her some of everything.
Jay smiled. "Thanks."
Keifer: "Tss. Anytime."
Tita Gema watched from the kitchen. "She's never like this."
Serina, seated nearby: "She's comfortable. It's beautiful."
Jasfer: "Our daughter is being BABIED and I support it."
Jay's grandma: "ABOUT TIME SHE LET SOMEONE TAKE CARE OF HER."
Jay: "I can hear you all."
Everyone: "WE KNOW."
After dinner, they migrated to the patio.
Just the two of them.
The stars were out. The house hummed with distant chaos. Jay sat on the steps, Keifer beside her.
She leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Keifer?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for today."
Keifer: "For what?"
Jay: "For… going along with it. For not making me explain. For just… being here."
Keifer: "I'm always here."
Jay: "I know. But today I needed it more."
Keifer: "Then I'm glad I was here."
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment.
Then Jay spoke again, quieter. "I'm always the strong one. The CEO. The person everyone relies on. Sometimes I just want to… not be that. Just for a little while."
Keifer: "Then don't be."
Jay: "It's not that simple."
Keifer: "It is with me. You don't have to be anything with me. You can just be Jay. CEO Jay. Baby mode Jay. Food-obsessed Jay. Weird 'tss' fixation Jay."
Jay: "That last one was unnecessary."
Keifer: "It's part of your charm."
Jay: "My charm is questionable."
Keifer: "Your charm is perfect."
He tilted her chin up, kissing her softly.
When he pulled back, he smiled.
"Tss. So cute."
Jay: "You're never going to stop."
Keifer: "Never."
Jay: "I love you anyway."
Keifer: "I know."
She nestled against him again.
And on the patio, under the stars, wrapped in each other—
Jay was just Jay.
Cute. Childish. Loved.
And that was more than enough.