The morning began peacefully enough.
Sunlight trickled through the balcony doors, the air humming with the soft clatter of spoons against cereal bowls. Aria was in the kitchen, humming under her breath while spooning mashed banana into the kids' brightly colored baby bowls. Elias sat on the floor nearby, cradling his ever-loyal plush bunny like a general overseeing battlefield logistics.
Leon had just stepped out to take a call in the hallway when it happened.
A soft whoosh of wings.
A flutter of gray.
Then chaos.
Aria barely had time to turn before a pigeon—a full-grown, city-hardened pigeon—flew straight through the balcony doors she had opened for some fresh air. It landed smack on the kitchen table, beside the kids' untouched bowls, tilting its head like it was personally offended by the lack of breadcrumbs.
Aria screamed.
Not a blood-curdling horror movie scream—but definitely a loud, startled yelp that had the girls blinking in confusion and Elias staring, wide-eyed, like he'd just seen a dragon land in his territory.
"Oh my God, no, no—Leon!"
He came running within seconds, phone forgotten, only to stop short at the sight of the uninvited guest now pacing arrogantly across their kitchen table like it had paid rent.
The twins, sensing tension, began to wail in stereo. Elias, in contrast, simply hugged his bunny tighter and plopped himself on the carpet, gaze locked onto the pigeon with a look that was oddly serious for a toddler.
Leon blinked. "Is that…?"
"A pigeon! It's in the house!"
"Okay. Okay. Don't panic."
"I'm not panicking!" Aria shrieked, ducking behind the counter as the pigeon flapped once, sending a spoon flying to the floor.
Leon dropped to a crouch, creeping toward the table like he was defusing a bomb. "Let's just… coax it back out."
"Coax?! It's on the table, Leon—it just pecked the banana!"
Meanwhile, the pigeon remained unimpressed, occasionally fluttering from one chair to the next, inspecting its temporary kingdom.
Leon grabbed a kitchen towel. "Alright, buddy. Time to go."
Aria peeked out from behind the fridge as he made his move.
The pigeon saw the towel and decided it was now in a duel.
What followed was two solid minutes of utter chaos—Leon crawling on all fours, trying to corner the bird, which kept swooping around and landing just out of reach. At one point, it flew into the hallway mirror, ricocheted off with a dramatic thunk, and landed squarely in the kids' empty toy basket.
Elias remained exactly where he was, hugging Bunny and following the bird with his eyes like a little owl. He hadn't moved an inch—just kept turning his head slowly, tracking the pigeon's every flight path with unnerving calm.
Finally, Leon managed to open the balcony doors wide and used the towel to shepherd the pigeon toward the exit. One last flap, and it was gone—leaving a trail of tiny feathers and half a banana behind.
Silence returned.
The twins had stopped crying, staring at their father like he'd just slain a beast. Elias clapped once, still holding his bunny, as if to say bravo.
Leon wiped sweat from his brow and turned to Aria, who had only now dared to stand upright again.
"I swear," he panted, "this place is cursed."
"I think it was after the banana," she replied, dazed.
"Or our dignity."
He scooped up Elias, who leaned his head against his father's shoulder, still eerily calm. "You didn't even blink, little man. Were you enjoying the show?"
"Maybe he's just built different," Aria said, eyeing Elias' unbothered expression. "You should've seen his eyes. Like he was studying it."
Leon looked down at his son. "A born tactician. Or a falconer. Or… wait." His eyes narrowed. "Or worse. A future CEO."
Aria laughed. "You're projecting."
"I'm seeing potential. You and the girls may outnumber us," he said, glancing at the twins now peacefully chewing on their sleeves, "but I think Elias and I are going to hold our ground just fine."
She snorted. "You say that now, but when they learn to gang up on you…"
"Which is why," he said with a perfectly serious expression, "we might need another boy. Just to even the odds."
Aria's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"
Leon kissed her cheek with a smirk and set Elias down again. "Just planting the idea. A defensive maneuver."
Elias let out a tiny yawn as if agreeing to the strategy.
Aria rolled her eyes but smiled as she picked up the discarded towel. "Let's survive today first. Then maybe we'll talk reinforcements."
Leon chuckled and bent to retrieve the plush bunny that had been dropped during the chaos.
Peace had returned.
For now.