The apartment smelled like vanilla cake and baby shampoo. Balloons were everywhere mint green, peach, and soft gold, bouncing gently against the ceiling. A tiny banner stretched across the window: Happy 1st Birthday, Nova in glittery script.
Nova, now wobbling between steps and chaos, wore a little crown and a tutu. Her face was smeared with frosting. She looked absolutely pleased with herself.
Tiana stood near the kitchen island, laughing as Jasmine tried and failed to take a cute photo without getting a blurry blob of motion.
"She's got your energy," Jasmine said, snapping another shot.
"She's got Leo's stubbornness," Tiana replied.
As if summoned, Leo appeared beside them, holding two mugs of coffee and wearing a party hat Nova had insisted he wear.He handed one to Tiana, his fingers brushing hers. "So, our daughter is officially one. How do you feel?"
"Like I aged ten years and fell in love twice," she said without thinking.
He blinked. "Twice?"
Tiana met his eyes. "With her. And with you."
The words weren't dramatic. They weren't rehearsed. Just true.
Leo's expression softened. "Good. Because I'm still falling. Every day."
She leaned up and kissed him soft and certain, right there in the middle of the party, with frosting and chaos and family all around them.
Later, after the guests were gone, Nova was asleep, and the living room was a mess of wrapping paper and toys, they curled up on the couch.
Tiana rested her head on Leo's chest. "Did you ever think one night would turn into all this? "No," he said honestly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "But I'm really glad it did."They stayed like that, tangled up in quiet, in each other, in the beautiful, unpredictable life they were building one night, one step, one heartbeat at a time.