Senna didn't warn me.
No heads-up. No "Hey, you might be ambushed by two tiny versions of me with zero filter."
Just a casual text that read:
"Walking my brothers home today. You can wait at the gate if you want."
So I wait.
Backpack slung over one shoulder, headphones in, trying to look chill even though my palms are sweating like I'm about to meet her dad, not two elementary schoolers.
Then I hear it:
"THERE HE IS! GO! GO! GO!"
I look up and get tackled.
Small arms wrap around my waist. A backpack smacks me in the leg. I stagger. I'm under attack.
And then I hear Senna's voice behind them, breathless and way too amused.
"Auggie! Bear! We talked about not launching surprise assaults on civilians!"
"I'm not a civilian," the smallest one declares, still clinging to me. "He's the Stair Boy!"
"The what now?"
Senna finally catches up, curls flying, school bag slipping off her shoulder. She's laughing but also trying not to. She peels one child off me - the tiny one in light-up crocs - and introduces him with a sigh.
"That's Auggie. The reason I don't sleep in on Saturdays."
"I'm an agent of chaos," he says proudly.
"The other one," she says, gesturing to the taller boy in a hoodie that says BOSS LEVEL, "is Bear. He's the responsible one. Allegedly."
Bear studies me. He's got sharp eyes and a suspicious frown. "You're the one who makes her laugh."
Senna groans. "Please don't start."
"I'm just saying," Bear continues, stepping forward like a tiny security guard, "we've got questions."
Auggie nods solemnly. "Serious ones."
I hold up my hands. "Interrogation accepted."
---
They circle me like I'm a suspicious package. Bear folds his arms. "What's your name?"
"Luca."
"Are you rich?"
"Um... I mean, kind of?"
Bear crosses his arms. "We don't trust rich people."
"That's valid," I say, hands up. "I wouldn't trust me either."
Bear narrows his eyes. "Do you know how to braid hair?"
I glance at Senna, then back at Bear. "No?"
"Wrong answer," he says.
Auggie jumps in. "Do you know how to fight?"
"Like... emotionally?"
"Wrong answer," Bear mutters.
"Can you do a cartwheel?" Auggie asks, tugging my sleeve.
"Nope."
"Backflip?"
"Definitely not."
"Can you make pancakes shaped like dinosaurs?"
"I mean-probably?"
"Can you cook?"
"Scrambled eggs?"
Bear sighs. "Mediocre."
"I have snacks?" I offer.
Both boys stop. Turn.
"What kind?" they ask in unison.
"Don't worry," Auggie adds. "We can train him."
Senna pinches the bridge of her nose. "This is why you don't get to meet people."
---
Senna finally pries Auggie off my arm and shoves his backpack into his chest.
"You said you were tired," she says.
"I was, until I saw the stair prince."
I blink. "The what?"
"He thinks you're my boyfriend," Senna mutters.
"I am the romantic expert in the house," Auggie says proudly. "I've watched Frozen fifteen times."
Bear shrugs. "And Encanto. We know things."
"I-" I can't even speak. I'm laughing too hard.
---
As we walk, they flank her like little bodyguards. Bear holds her hand without being asked. Auggie tries to race ahead, then doubles back just to poke my arm and grin.
Senna shoots me an apologetic look over her shoulder, but I just shake my head, smiling.
This isn't like our usual stairwell space - all soft silences and careful looks.
This is real.
This is her world.
Sticky hands. Wild laughter. Shouts about imaginary monsters. One of them trying to eat trail mix off the sidewalk.
It's chaos.
And I love it.
---
"They call me Captain Mango," Senna mutters at one point, as Bear swings her arm and Auggie sings something from Frozen off-key.
"I'm sorry - what?"
"I once bribed them with mango slices to get them to take a bath. Now it's a whole superhero identity."
"I respect it," I say. "Your origin story is strong."
She tries not to smile, but it slips through. A small, soft thing. Real.
"They're my heart," she says, barely above a whisper.
I glance at her.
"I can tell," I say.
And I mean it. All of it.
---
By the time we reach their apartment gate, I've been renamed "Sir Stairlegs," have a dinosaur sticker on my hoodie, and have promised Auggie I'll "try to backflip in the future, for romance reasons."
Senna leans against the gate, watching her brothers run inside, backpacks swinging.
"Sorry about that," she says, tucking a curl behind her ear. "They're a lot."
"They're everything," I say before I can stop myself.
She pauses. Looks at me.
And for a second, the world goes quiet. No footsteps. No shouting. Just us.
"I'm glad you saw this part," she says. "Even if it was... loud."
"I like loud," I say. "Especially when it's you."
She flushes, looks down, and mutters, "You're gonna make me regret letting you meet them."
But she's smiling.
And I know - I know - this moment means more than anything we've shared under the stairs.
Because this? This is the part of her she doesn't show just anyone.
And now I'm part of it.