Chapter Text
Akira never really threw tantrums. He wasn't a bratty kid by any means, and when he was misbehaving, there was usually a reason, whether it be because he was too tired, woke up fussy, or something was stressing him out. Yusuke just couldn't figure out which one it was at the moment. It was his day with the little, and Akira seemed to have woken up in a mood, and now was refusing to even look at him. The day before wasn't really bringing up any hints, either.
They'd arrived pretty soon after Yusuke had ended the call, Ryuji rushing forward to lift Akira up and swing him around in circles. Makoto warned him to be careful with the baby, but she couldn't deny the giggles he let out were adorable, and the big grin on his face told Makoto that he wasn't really in danger. Haru came over to pet his hair, cooing over him while Ann waved a new plush at Akira, and the little eagerly reached for it from where he sat on Ryuji's hip. Yusuke watched the interaction fondly, though the sight of Futaba frowning made him look away, stepping closer to her instead, raising an eyebrow. She pulled him away from the group, far enough out of earshot before she answered his silent question.
"Morgana still isn't here, and he wasn't here this morning." She stated, and Yusuke's eyes widened. Normally when Akira regressed, Morgana refused to leave his side. So for him to be gone for so long, it was certainly worrying.
"I hope it's nothing serious." Yusuke said, frowning as he looked over at the group, the lack of Morgana now much more present than it had been before. Futaba nodded, letting out a sigh, before shaking her head.
"If he's not back soon, we'll have to go search for him." They both agreed, and headed back over to Kira, who was wiggling happily as Ryuji played snap with him, half letting him win and half actually losing. Just as Akira yelled snap on a purple elephant, the door opened and in walked Akechi Goro, holding Morgana by the scruff of his neck. They hadn't seen Akechi since everything had happened, at least in person, but here the ace detective was holding their feline friend.
Akira was the first to react, bursting into a fit of tears and trying to hide himself, Sojiro rushing over to pick the boy up and hold him close in the booth, while the rest of them formed a protective wall by standing in front of them, hoping to shield Akira from Goro's prying eyes. He'd let Morgana go out of shock of what he'd seen, trying to piece things together.
"Is he.. a little?" The detective said, stepping closer, while everyone else - bar the sobbing little himself - looked surprised that Akechi even knew what a little was. "May I see him?"
Of course, Yusuke understood that having your old rival, or whatever Akechi was, seeing you in such a vulnerable position could potentially be making Akira so fussy today, but the little had seemed happy enough yesterday. They'd let Akira decide on whether to let Goro in, and after many pinky promises from Ryuji that if Akechi said anything mean he'd protect him, he'd eventually crawled out of Sojiro's hold to look at the detective with wide eyes. They'd stared at each other for a few seconds, before Akira shyly pushed the snap cards over to Akechi. Everything seemed to be smooth sailing after that. Morgana revealed that he was trying to win Akira a toy from the arcade when he was thrown out, and Akechi found him, and promptly dragged him back to the cafe.
This brought them back to where they were now: Akira was throwing a tantrum on the attic floor, refusing to get up or even look at Yusuke when the caregiver spoke to him. Yusuke was at a loss of what to do - he didn't want to involve anyone else, since it was rare he got to spend the day with the baby by himself, but also he couldn't have Akira accidentally hurt himself in his temper. He sighed, sitting down in front of Akira and opening his arms, looking at the little with a concerned gaze.
"What is wrong with my darling baby?" He murmured, receiving a grunt in response, though this one sounded more tired out than the rest of the noises Akira had been making. Yusuke was silently grateful he wasn't a loud baby. "Would he like a cuddle?" That made Akira look up a little, still not meeting Yusuke's eyes but it was better than nothing. Progress was progress, after all.
"Yu-Yu…" Akira whined, reaching his arms out and making grabby hands at the man, whining quietly when he was tugged into Yusuke's lap, burying his face into the caregiver's shoulder and sniffling. "Scared." Yusuke cooed sympathetically, running his fingers through Akira's hair, hoping to soothe the little, while giving him time to talk, though when only silence followed, he shuffled Akira back slightly to look at the little properly. It pained him to see tears in the baby's eyes, but he pushed through in order to solve the problem. It only took a few seconds of bouncing Akira reassuringly for him to start sobbing, throwing himself back at Yusuke while trying to talk.
"K-Kechi alive! Di'n't say anythin'!" He choked out, clinging on tightly to his caregiver. "W-what if h-he tell everyone?" Yusuke shushed Akira softly, though he knew it wouldn't really have much of an impact. He couldn't promise Akira anything, because he still didn't fully trust Akechi after everything that happened, and there was no telling what was going through the detective's head.
No, in order to reassure Akira they'd have to talk to Akechi directly, and Yusuke knew just who to set up the meeting with. Ryuji was a force to be reckoned with when it came to their baby, and if anyone could intimidate Akechi into keeping quiet it would be him, and possibly Makoto. Haru was terrifying as well, but Yusuke knew that she had her own struggles with the detective, concerning her late father.
Regardless, Ryuji and Makoto would do just fine at keeping their baby safe.
They'd make sure it was fine.