[Jay's POV]
The quiet, architectural elegance of the Watson Estate didn't just crumble—it was demolished by the sheer force of the "K-Line" sibling rivalry.
I was still standing by the kitchen island, the warmth of Keifer's arm around my waist acting as my only anchor in the rising tide of chaos. I had lived through the cold, silent wars of the Mariano household, but I was utterly unprepared for the high-decibel, high-energy "Silly Season" of the Watson brothers.
It started with a single, innocent comment from Keiran.
The eleven-year-old reached out and grabbed the hem of my apron, looking up at me with wide, soulful eyes that he clearly knew were his greatest weapon. "Ate, since you're new to the family, you should know that I'm the favorite. Kuya Keifer is too grumpy, and Keigan is too loud. You love me the most, right?"
I opened my mouth to give a diplomatic, logical response, but I was interrupted by a loud, scoffing sound from Keigan.
"In your dreams, pipsqueak!" Keigan stepped in, physically nudging his younger brother aside with his shoulder. "Ate is an engineer. She values intelligence and peak physical performance. I'm sixteen, I'm the varsity striker, and I can actually explain how a combustion engine works. Clearly, I am the superior sibling. Ate, tell him I'm your favorite."
"Hold on a minute," Keifer's voice dropped into that low, dangerous register he usually reserved for warding off rivals at the university. His grip on my waist tightened, pulling me half an inch closer. "She is my fiancée. She doesn't have 'favorites' among my brothers because she's too busy loving the man who actually found her first. Back off, both of you."
"Oh, please, Kuya!" Keiran giggled, ducking under Keifer's arm to stand on my other side. "You're boring! You just make her study and look at blueprints. I can show her my secret stash of Swiss chocolates and the fort I built in the attic! Ate, choose me!"
"Chocolates?" Keigan rolled his eyes, leaning against the counter and flashing a charming, lopsided grin that was terrifyingly similar to Keifer's. "Ate, I have the latest VR headset and I can teach you how to beat Kuya at racing games. He's actually terrible when he's distracted. Choose the winner. Choose me."
I looked from Keigan to Keiran, then up at Keifer, who was currently glaring at his younger brothers like they were bugs in his code. The "Watson-Jay Constant" was being pulled in three different directions by three different versions of the same DNA.
"Boys, stop harassing her," Mamma Serina said from the stove, though she was laughing so hard she could barely stir the pot.
"We aren't harassing her, Mumma! We're conducting a survey!" Keigan protested. He turned back to me, his eyes gleaming. "Ate, if we were all drowning—purely hypothetical, of course—who would you save first? Me, the baby, or the Grumpy Prince?"
I felt the heat rising in my cheeks, my brain trying to calculate a way out of this emotional trap. "Well, according to fluid dynamics and the weight-to-buoyancy ratio—"
"No physics!" Keiran cried, jumping up and down. "No math! Just heart, Ate! Who do you love more?"
"She loves me," Keifer stated flatly, looking down at me with an intensity that made my breath hitch. "Don't you, Jay?"
"Don't pressure her, Kuya! That's a foul!" Keigan shouted. He suddenly lunged forward, grabbing my hand and trying to pull me toward the living room. "Come on, Ate! Leave the old man behind! Let's go play games!"
"Hey! No touching the merchandise!" Keifer barked, swatting Keigan's hand away and scooping me up by the waist, nearly lifting me off the floor to keep me out of their reach.
The kitchen erupted into a full-blown "Silly War." Keiran was running circles around us, chanting, "Ate loves the baby best! Ate loves the baby best!" while Keigan was trying to "wrestle" Keifer for the right to escort me to the lounge. Keifer was fending them off with his elbows, laughing despite himself, his "Chill Prince" persona completely evaporated into the role of an overprotective big brother.
"Look at what you've done!" Keifer complained, looking down at me as I shook with silent laughter. "You've broken my brothers. They've lost all sense of hierarchy."
"I think the hierarchy was a lie to begin with, Keifer," I managed to say between giggles.
I looked at the three of them—the tall, stoic man holding me, the energetic teenager trying to outshine him, and the little boy looking for a hug. For the first time, the word 'Family' didn't feel like a calculation of debts and expectations. It felt like this: loud, messy, competitive, and overwhelmingly warm.
"Fine!" Keigan yelled over the noise. "If we can't decide, we'll settle it with a Mario Kart tournament! Winner gets to sit next to Ate at dinner!"
"Challenge accepted," Keifer growled, his competitive streak flaring up. "But I'm warning you, I don't lose."
"We'll see about that, Kuya!" Keiran shouted, sprinting out of the kitchen toward the gaming room.
As they scrambled out, Keifer lingered for a second, his forehead resting against mine. "You've caused a riot, Jay," he whispered, his eyes full of a soft, glowing heat.
"I think I like the riot," I whispered back
He kissed me quickly—a brief, sweet theft of a moment—before he was jerked away by Keigan pulling on his shirt. "Move it, Kuya! The track is loading!"
I stood in the kitchen, watching the three Watson brothers disappear down the hall, their voices echoing in a chaotic, beautiful symphony of arguments. I looked at Mamma Serina, who was wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.
"Welcome to the real Watson Estate, Jay," she said softly. "I hope you're ready for a very loud three months."
I smiled, feeling the last of the shadows from the Mariano house finally vanish. "I think my calculations can handle it, Mamma."