ᴍᴀɴʜᴀᴛᴛᴀɴ, ɴᴇᴡ ʏᴏʀᴋ

The evening sun dipped low, causing streaks of orange and blue through the windows as the house hummed with its normal chaos. The faint scent of fresh paint still lingered in the air, and the walls of the baby's room gleamed in soft shades of blue and white. The room felt calm, like it was just waiting to be filled with warmth with life.

Ari stood by the dresser, one hand resting on her round belly while the other smoothed over a folded stack of tiny onesies. Her bump stretched against her oversized t-shirt, and every now and then, the little boy inside her gave a soft kick, as if reminding her he was there too.

Across the room, Kay was hovered over the crib, tongue slightly poking out the corner of his mouth as he tightened one of the last screws. He had been hyped ever since they found out they were having a boy, a second son, that would be carrying his name. Even just saying it made him grin like a kid on Christmas.

Ari caught him glancing at her from the corner of his eye, the smile tugging at his lips.

"What?" she asked, smirking as she placed a blue ceramic vase on the nightstand.

Kay shook his head, chuckling low. "Nothing... You just look good, that's all."

Ari rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the little smile tugging at her own mouth.

"Thank you babe." she muttered, trying to focus on arranging the small bouquet of blue flowers she had picked out earlier that day.

Kay set the screwdriver down and stood, stretching his arms out before walking over to her. He slid his hands around her belly from behind, leaning down to kiss the side of her neck.

"I'm serious," he mumbled against her skin. "Nah deadass, I'm glad it was you I settled down with. You don't even know how I'm hype for this baby to come."

Ari leaned back into him for a second, letting herself melt into the warmth of his arms. This baby felt like a full circle moment for them. They had been through so much, but this? This was the soft part of life they had fought to get to.

"Alright," she said, pulling away before they got too caught up. "We gotta finish before these kids come in here and start tearing stuff up."

Kay smacked his lips, stepping back. "Let them help. You need to be sitting down anyways."

As if on cue, three little faces peeked around the doorframe, eyes wide and waiting.

"Y'all ready to help?" Kay called softly.

Kimora stepped in first, carefully. At ten years old, she carried herself like she was older, reminding Ari of so much like herself when she was her age.

"Where you want me, Mommy?" Kimora asked, glancing around the room like she was already mapping out what needed to be done.

"Come help me set up his books."

Kimora's whole face lit up at that, and she nodded quickly.

Kennedy bounced in right behind her sister, clutching the blue stuffed bear she had picked out at the store earlier that week.

"I wanna put his bear in the bed!" she declared, holding it up like it was the most important job in the world.

Ari grinned, crouching down slowly to meet her daughter's wide brown eyes. "That's perfect, baby. He's gonna love it."

Kennedy's face beamed as she skipped over to the crib, gently placing the bear right in the middle of the mattress.

Kairo was the last to come in, dragging his blanket with him as he had just woke up from a nap.

"Come here, Papa," Kay called, kneeling down. "Wanna help me with the lights?"

Kairo's little face brightened, and he padded over with sleepy eyes, watching carefully as Kay plugged in the blue cloud-shaped nightlight.

For a while, the whole room buzzed with quiet energy. Kimora stacked books neatly on the shelf. Kennedy kept adjusting the bear in the crib until it was just right. Kairo flicked the nightlight on and off.

Ari took a seat in the rocking chair feeling her ankles start to hurt, taking a small break.

"You think he's gonna like it?" Kimora asked softly, her hands resting on her mom's belly.

Kay sat on the ground, pulling Kairo into his lap.

"He's gonna love it," he murmured.

After a few more adjustments, the room finally felt ready. The crib was made up with soft blue sheets. The shelf was stocked with stories waiting to be read. A little cloud nightlight glowed in the corner. The stuffed bear sat in the middle of the crib, and a furry blue rug in the center of the room,

Kennedy clapped her hands together. "He's gonna love it!"

Kairo tugged on Kay's pants leg. "What's his name again?"

Kay grinned, glancing at Ari before answering.

"Kevin." He answered.

Kairo's little nose scrunched up. "That's your name."

Kay chuckled, lifting him up onto his shoulders. "Yeah, but now we gonna share it."

Ari just shook her head, smiling softly. "You're mad hype." Ari laughed. "Make sure you set up the diaper stand."

"Alright I gotchu."

"You sure because we had to call Jo to set up Kairo's..and Kennedy." She said making Kay smack his lips again. "Alright yall let's go eat lunch." She said getting up and getting ready to round them out the room.

Kay leaned back, watching the kids run around the room, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. After everything, being able to kick back with Ari and the kids in this moment felt real. He'd been through so much, but with Ari by his side now, none of that mattered. He wasn't one for mushy feelings, but seeing them all together, it just hit different. He could've been anywhere, but he was here, and that was all that mattered.