Chapter 525: Apparently Social

Arion had spent most of Friday morning preparing for a problem that never appeared.

Theodore had never been surrounded by many unfamiliar people at once, and although the medical team had cleared ordinary family visits, that did not mean Dean or Arion particularly trusted their three-month-old son to appreciate suddenly discovering that his father possessed an unreasonable number of siblings.

They had therefore established rules.

Two visitors at a time.

No one sick.

No heavy pheromonal output around Theo.

No passing him between people every five minutes merely because everyone wanted a turn.

Dean had considered those restrictions sensible.

Arion had written them down.

That was where sensible ended.

"You made a schedule."

Arion looked up from the tablet in his hand.

"Yes."

Dean stood beside Theodore’s cot with one eyebrow raised, wearing loose dark trousers and a cream sweater while their son stared contentedly at the mobile rotating above him.

"With allocated holding time."

"That prevents arguments."

"You gave Ariana twenty minutes."

"She requested thirty-five."

Dean pressed his lips together.

"And Castor?"

"Fifteen."

"Why?"

"He was irritating in the group chat."

Dean started laughing.

Arion remained entirely serious.

Theo turned his head toward the sound.

His eyes were gold, wide and curious, and after several seconds of staring at Dean he made a soft little noise that had recently become his preferred contribution to conversation.

Dean immediately leaned over the cot.

"Yes, your father is ridiculous."

Arion sighed.

Theodore smiled.

Not a large smile, and still slightly uncertain in the way most of his newer expressions were, but clearly pleased.

Dean looked toward Arion.

"You see? He agrees."

"He smiles when Boreas sneezes."

"He has good judgment."

The first visitors arrived shortly after lunch.

Ariana came with Caroline, both of whom had evidently interpreted the word casual differently from the rest of the family, because Ariana entered in an elegant camel coat over a fitted black dress while Caroline wore a dark-blue trouser suit and carried a gift bag large enough to immediately make Arion suspicious.

Dean noticed.

"Do not interrogate the gift."

"I wasn’t going to."

"You were looking at it like customs."

Caroline handed it directly to Dean.

"It is clothing."

Arion relaxed slightly.

Ariana looked past them toward Theo, who was resting against Dean’s shoulder after feeding.

Her entire expression changed.

"Oh."

Dean smiled.

"That seems to be everyone’s reaction."

"He’s tiny."

"He was much tinier."

Ariana approached carefully, her pheromones kept so restrained that Dean barely registered them at all, and when she stopped in front of Theo rather than immediately reaching for him, Arion’s shoulders finally relaxed by several degrees.

Theodore stared at her.

Ariana stared back.

Then she smiled.

"Hello, little prince."

Theo blinked.

His eyes shifted slowly from gold to black.

Caroline went still for half a second.

Ariana did not.

"Oh, those are the famous eyes."

Dean glanced toward Arion.

His husband noticed too.

Neither said anything.

Three months ago, the reaction would have tightened every muscle in Arion’s body.

Now he merely watched Theo yawn.

Dean transferred him into Ariana’s arms several minutes later, carefully settling the baby against her chest while Arion hovered close enough to intervene despite pretending he was only adjusting the blanket.

Theo tolerated the transfer without complaint.

Then something unexpected happened.

He appeared to enjoy himself.

Ariana spoke to him quietly, telling him about the ridiculous number of relatives waiting for permission to invade his home, while Theodore stared at her face with the intense concentration he normally reserved for Dean, Arion, and ceiling lights.

When Caroline finally received her turn, Theo caught one of the silver buttons on her sleeve.

Caroline looked delighted.

Arion looked concerned about choking hazards.

Dean removed Theodore’s fingers from the button before his husband could prohibit clothing with fastenings throughout the palace.

"He likes people," Ariana said.

"We weren’t sure he would," Dean admitted.

Given the early birth, the prolonged neonatal stay, his developing pheromonal sensitivity, and the extremely small circle allowed around him since coming home, both parents had quietly wondered whether a sudden increase in unfamiliar scents and voices would overwhelm him.

Instead, Theo appeared fascinated.

By the time Ariana and Caroline left, he had smiled twice, fallen asleep against Caroline for seven minutes, and objected loudly when Dean tried to remove the soft fabric rabbit Ariana had brought from his reach.

Arion looked at his son afterward.

"This proves nothing."

Dean laughed.

"You thought he would hate everyone."

"I thought he might become overstimulated."

"You thought he would hate everyone."

"I did not."

The next visit proved considerably worse for Arion’s argument.

Castor arrived with Rina the following afternoon.

Castor barely crossed the sitting-room threshold before Theodore turned toward his voice.

"See?" Castor said immediately. "He knows me."

"He has never met you."

"Genetic recognition."

"That is not a thing," Dean said.

"It could be."

Arion gave his brother a flat look.

"Do not teach my son nonsense before he can speak."

Theo made a happy little sound.

Castor pointed toward him.

"He agrees."

Dean had to look away before Arion saw him laughing.

Theodore followed every movement.

Then he laughed.

Not the breathy, almost-laugh Dean had heard before.

An actual small, startled burst of sound.

Everyone froze.

Theo looked equally surprised.

Then Castor made the expression again.

Another laugh.

Dean grabbed Arion’s forearm.

"Did you hear that?"

"I’m standing here."

"He laughed."

"I heard."

Arion’s voice had gone soft anyway.

Castor looked unbearably pleased with himself.

"I’m clearly the favorite uncle."

From the sofa, Riana said, "Nero is going to kill you."

"He isn’t here."

"That has never stopped him."

Dean smiled while Theo kicked both legs beneath his blanket, apparently delighted by the attention and completely unaware that he had just started another family competition.

The younger ones arrived two days later.

Oscar and Diego had been waiting with such dramatic patience that Dean finally allowed both at once, provided they came directly after school and changed out of their uniforms before touching the baby.

They obeyed with suspicious enthusiasm.

Oscar sat stiffly on the sofa when Arion finally placed Theodore in his arms.

"Support his head," Arion said.

"I know."

"Keep your hand—"

"Arion."

"I’m explaining."

"You explained four times."

Dean covered his smile with one hand.

Theo looked up at Oscar.

Oscar’s entire teenage composure disappeared.

"He’s looking at me."

"That is generally what eyes are for," Diego said from beside him.

"Shut up."

"Do not fight while holding my son," Arion said.

Both immediately stopped.

Dean laughed.

Theodore smiled again.

By the end of the week, the conclusion was difficult even for Arion to dispute.

Theo liked visitors.

Not endlessly, and Dean learned quickly when the child had reached his limit because he would turn his face inward, become quieter, and search for either Dean’s mint-lemon scent or Arion’s vetiver, but until then he seemed genuinely delighted by new voices, new faces, and the extraordinary amount of attention available from an imperial family determined to adore him.

That evening, after the last visitors had left and Theodore slept between them on the wide sofa, Dean rested his head against Arion’s shoulder.

"You worried for nothing."

"I worried appropriately."

"He laughed at Castor."

"That remains questionable judgment."

Dean smiled.

Theo shifted in his sleep, one tiny hand opening against Arion’s chest before curling into the fabric of his shirt.

Arion looked down at him.

Whatever objection he had been preparing disappeared.

Dean watched his husband soften immediately and decided not to tease him.

Not yet.

There were still several siblings waiting for their turn.