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Echo opens the front door to their house and finds a tired-looking Even standing in front of them, carrying a bag on his shoulder and a very bouncy toddler on his hip, who's animatedly swaying their legs and trying to grab the ends of Even’s wings.
“Hi.” says Even.
When Brook spots Echo on the doorway they squeal in excitement and start struggling to get out of their father's hold. Even's eyes widen as he tightens his arms around their body, barely stopping them from falling to the ground.
“Hey, Even.” Echo grins, turning to look at Brook, “And hey to you, little bug.” They poke at their nose, getting a pitched giggle out of them.
“ Cocococo ” Brook babbles, reaching for Echo with their chubby hands. They take them out of Even's arms and into their own, easily settling them on their hip. As soon as Brook finds a comfortable position they grab a handful of Echo's hair (that they absolutely forgot to put in a ponytail, damn) and tug, hard.
They hear Even chuckle and send him a pointed look, trying to gently unclench the hand on their hair. Brook is as cute as the day they were born all dark curls and big warm eyes, but it looks like they still haven't lost the habit of pulling on things.
“Missed you too, buddy.”. They giggle again when Echo kisses their forehead, a bubbly sound that never fails to make them smile.
“I think they like you more than they like us,” says Even, grabbing the bag he carries on his shoulder, probably full of Brook’s stuff, and lowering it to the ground.
“Of course they do. All your kids love me.”
“You spoil them!”
“Yeah, and I'll never stop.”
Like you don't spoil them too , Echo thinks, smiling. They think about how the little bugs tend to just show up at their house, talking about a great idea for a new project they want to discuss with someone, or how they discovered a weird kind of flower, or just carrying bags of food and installing themselves on their couch for the evening. Even just lets them come whenever they want to, as long as he's sure they aren't busy and that they're taking care of each other.
”Are the rest of the bugs all set?” Echo asks.
“Yeah, Ivory is spending the night at her girlfriend’s, and Mellow is hanging out with some friends.” He answers, restlessly tapping his foot on the floor. “Please call us if you need anything. Don't forget giving them water every once in a while, be careful with small things, they love putting stuff in their mouth. And don't let them stay up after-”
“-nine, because if they stay up later they'll be cranky in the morning, yeah, I know.” Echo rolls their eyes “Stop worrying, we've done this before. Everything's gonna be fine. And it's not like I’m doing this by myself, Grand’s gonna help me once he gets back home.”
“I... guess two babysitters are better than one, even if the second one is Grand,” Even takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. “But you're probably right. It's gonna be okay. And it’ll be nice to have a night with Cascabel without constantly having to worry about the kids.”
“You and Cascabel definitely deserve some alone time. Relax, go have a good time, we’re gonna take care of the little one.” Echo smiles at Brook, who’s let go of their hair and is now playing with the collar of their shirt.
“Yeah, I know” Even chuckles softly, “Thanks again, for doing this.”
“Don't even worry about it, I love spending time with the little bugs.” Brook starts moving on their arms, already restless with boredom, so Echo turns back to Even and says, “Come on, you shouldn't leave your husband waiting. Have fun.”
“We will,” he answers. He gives Echo a quick hug and presses a kiss on Brook’s forehead, who only scrunches their nose and tries to push him away. Even laughs softly at this, and waves at them as he walks to his car. “See you tomorrow.”
“Bye bye!” Brook calls out, waving at Even as he gets on his car and drives away.
Echo grabs Even's bag from the ground and closes the door behind them. “So-” They start, gently lowering Brook to the ground. “Wanna check out the cool toys we got for you?”
Brook’s eyes light up.
________
The crayons Echo sets on the floor for Brook to play with lay untouched, as do all of the various other toys Grand and Echo have accumulated over the past few years for these exact kinds of situation. Instead, Brook decides that firstly they want to walk around the house and investigate every single corner of every single room. Echo follows them around, making sure they don't trip, but they decide to put a stop to their quest when Brook reaches for the doorknob leading to Grand's workshop, not willing to figure out just how dangerous for kids that space is.
After a while Brook gets bored of walking around and settles on the floor of their living room, finally reaching for their toys. Echo sits close to them, back resting on the couch, mindlessly going through different reports and documents from the school while trying to keep an eye out for them. Moments later Brook starts trying to climb the couch by themself, wildly swinging their weight up and being caught by Echo when they inevitably slip and fall, until they hear the front door open.
They stop moving and look around curiously. When they spot Grand walking into the living room they let out a delighted scream, immediately running towards him as fast as they can with their short legs.
Grand looks awfully surprised. He almost stumbles when Brook’s weight hits his legs full force, but he doesn't hesitate to lift them up and rest them on his hip. He attentively listens to Brook’s babbling, making sounds of agreement here and there, and walk towards Echo when he notices them sitting on the floor.
“You forgot we're on babysitting duty tonight, didn't you?” Echo asks.
“I didn't!” Grand exclaims.
They send him a disbelieving look.
“Yeah, I did. Sorry.”
“Don't worry about it.” They move their face up, clearly waiting for something. Grand bends down, balancing Brook on his arms, and presses a short kiss on their lips.
“Hey” Echo smirks up at him.
“Hi” Grand blinks, almost losing his balance when Brook moves on his arms.
He gently lowers himself to the floor next to Echo and lets Brook go. They make a noise of discontent, but utterly decide it's not worth it, shifting their attention back to the toys scattered on the carpet.
“Sorry I got my dates mixed together.” Grand repeats after a moment.
“Again, don't worry about it,” they push their shoulders together and smile. “Now that you're here I do need you to entertain them for a while, though. I need to get their food done.”
“I- Yeah, sure. I can do that.”
They press a kiss to his cheek before murmuring “Thanks, babe”, and heading to the kitchen
Even if Grand complains about kids, about how messy and loud and frustrating they are, Echo knows it's all just bark. They've seen him try to explain how Arbit works to curious groups of children, and smile at wide eyed babies. And he clearly has a soft spot for Even's kids, always letting them stay on their spare room whenever they want to, listening to what they have to say. They've noticed his eyes light up when Ivory tells him about her art projects, and they've seen him work on different toys for Brook and Mellow. The thought melts their heart a little.
Echo quickly finishes preparing their food, grabbing snacks for them and Grand on the way. When they come back from the kitchen Grand has moved to the couch, Brook sitting on his lap, happily gnawing at their fingers. They look very pleased with themself.
Grand, on the other hand, is looking at them with intense focus on his face, an expression usually present when he works, like there's something he wants to figure out. Echo watches them from the doorway for a while, trying to stifle a laugh at Grand's face when Brook reaches up with a drool-covered hand and pats his cheek.
Echo approaches and sits next to them, resting the plate full of smushed food on the side table. “You realize they're just a baby, right? You're looking at them like they're gonna explode or something.”
“We don't know if they aren't going to explode, somehow. They’re Even's kid, anything could happen.”
“You know what? Fair.” Echo smiles, reaching for a napkin and cleaning Brook’s hands.
“It's just - they've grown so much since we last saw them.” Grand adds after a moment, something similar to wonder on his voice.
“Even and Cascabel visited like… three weeks ago.”
“Yeah, but- I don't know. I've missed them, I guess.” Grand mutters, quietly.
Brook starts babbling and squiggling on his lap, displeased by the lack of attention they're getting, so he grabs their tiny hands and starts softly bouncing them on his leg. Echo can't stop the wave of affection that hits them at that moment, looking at Grand being so careful and tender with a kid that, even if not their own, they both adore.
“I'm glad we got to see them again, anyways. Kids… might not be as awful as I first thought.” Grand says with a hum, switching his gaze back to Echo “Wish we could spend more time with them, though.”
“You're a sap” they say, enjoying the blush that makes its way to Grand’s cheeks. ”But yeah. I've missed them too.” If there's a conversation to be had there, about the future, about a family, they let it rest. For now at least.
Echo sighs and turns back to Brook “Come on, time for a snack.” They say reaching for the food on the table
“Oooh!” Brook exclaims happily, already opening their mouth wide, showing the few small teeth they have.
Echo chuckles and turns to Grand “You hold them still while I feed them.”
___
After feeding Brook they settle into the floor again, this time with Echo working on different embroidery designs (a jacket for Brook’s sister, a bag for Even, another patch for Gig) while Grand tries his best at entertaining Brook. He easily finds the best way to make them laugh, building tall, complex towers with play blocks and letting them destroy them with their tiny hands. They burst into a fit of giggles every single time the buildings fall, and Grand smiles as he works on rebuilding the mess.
They fool around until dinner, after which Echo sends Grand to their room and puts him in charge of changing Brook’s diaper and getting them into their pj's. He scowls and sends them a look, not happy about having to do the worst part of taking care of a small child (even if that child is Brook) but he complies nonetheless. Echo just smirks and sticks their tongue out at him.
They go to the kitchen and quickly prepare Brook’s bottle, smiling to themself as they listen to Grand struggle with his task, sounds of steps walking back and forth followed by delighted laughter.
When Echo gets to their bedroom, Grand is standing in front of the bed with his hands on his hips, a stern expression on his face. Brook, on the other hand, is crawling up on the bed, only wearing a bright colored diaper and grinning widely
“I need to change you into your sleeping clothes. I can't do it if you're moving so much.”
“No” Brook mutters, crawling to the edge of the bed. Grand’s eyes widen in panic, but he's able to swiftly grab them by the ankle before they reach the edge.
“Having trouble?” Echo teases.
“I- Maybe” He mutters under his breath, picking Brook up and laying them on their back on the bed. They immediately start looking around, trying to turn themself over. Grand sighs.
Echo stifles a laugh as they walk towards the bed, resting the bottle on the side table. They grab Brook by the armpits, making them spurt into a fit of giggles, and promptly sit them on their lap, holding them there while Grand changes them into one of their warm onesies
When they're all set Echo hands the bottle to an eager Brook, who crawls to the middle of the bed and rest their head on the pillows, like they own the place
They have a portable crib in the house for when Brook needs stays the night, something Grand had quickly made for them one day and that had been discarded almost immediately. They both know just how restless Brook is, and that they don't really like sleeping alone. Instead, they fit their small body between the both of them on their bed. (Echo would feel bad about spoiling them too much if they didn't know Even does exactly the same).
In no time Brook leaves their initial position and climbs on top Grand, throwing their weight on his chest and resting their head on the crook of his neck.
“Ugh” He lets out a gasp of air, but doesn't complain about the weight of their small body. He curls his hand on their head, holding them in place.
Grand and Echo talk while Brook quietly drinks, about their days, the school, the bugs, not tired enough to fall asleep just yet. Echo rests their head on Grand’s shoulder, listening to the tiny sounds of Brook’s breathing fill the room. Pure affection blooms on their chest as they watch Grand slowly run his fingers through Brook’s hair. It's a soft emotion, quiet, a feeling they realize they’ve slowly gotten used to over the last few years. The domesticity. The long days full of laughter, and warm meals, and the comfort of knowing someone is waiting back at home.
It's nice.
After Brook falls asleep Grand grabs the bottle from their motionless hand and leaves it on the side table.
“Night. Love you”
Echo reaches for his hand, smiling. “Love you too,”