Chapter Text
Akira wakes up with the urge to pull the covers over himself, and he immediately knows it's one of those days. The days where the world just seems so big, and he feels like he's so incredibly small. Whining to himself, he turns into his side to reach for his drawer, pulling out a little plastic case with two pacifiers inside. One had a duck on the shield, and the other had a bear - he knows Ann bought them from somewhere, and they're his favourite out of the many he owns. He chose the duck for right now, and then settled back under the quilt, peeking out into the rest of the room. Morgana was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear Sojiro downstairs, and the TV droning on about events he could worry about later on. He can't hear any customers, but that doesn't mean he's safe to go down there.
Using what little is left of his adult headspace, he reaches for his phone, opening the group chat and sending a plaster emoji. It worked as well as their signal in person, and it meant he didn't have to try to figure out how to spell words and give himself a headache. It really was a tiny day today. The first person to reply was Makoto, though that wasn't a surprise - if anyone was going to be awake at 8 in the morning on a Saturday, it was bound to be her. She sent a message that was too long for him to bother trying to read, and he guessed it was more for the others to worry about, so he simply turned the phone off and pulled the covers up, waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting.
It was around five minutes later that he got bored of waiting, letting out a huff behind the pacifier, flopping onto his back. He continued to huff and grunt as he rolled on his bed, ending up with his sheets tangled around him.
"Have I got a grumpy boy on my hands?" Sojiro's voice made him pause in his pre-tantrum, and Akira immediately beamed at his papa, reaching his arms out for the older man, who exaggerated a groan and came closer, as if he didn't also love the cuddles he got. "What's all this huffing for?"
Akira stared at his papa for a second, before shrugging, tantrum completely forgotten in favour of cuddles. He closed his eyes, letting out a happy hum as Sojiro brushed his bangs back from his face, wondering if he could just drift off again, though a tap on his nose put a stop to that.
"No more sleeping, mister. We need to get some food in your tummy." Sojiro murmured, making Akira whine but begrudgingly agree by opening his eyes again. The cafe owner tended to be a lot softer in his language when no one was around, which made Akira love days when it was just him and his papa. However, he didn't want today to be one of those days. Before, Akira would've considered himself selfish for wanting everyone around him, fussing over him, but after many many reassurances from everyone, he found himself becoming able to ask for it more often. He gently tugged on his papa’s sleeve, pointing at his phone, to which Sojiro let out a playful huff, ruffling Akira’s hair.
“I’ll tell Futaba to ask them to come over, while you go eat.” That earned him another whine, and Sojiro looked confused. “You don’t want them to come over?” A shake of the head.
“Mako mess’ged.” Akira mumbled around the pacifier in his mouth, "Told them a'ready." The proud smile that formed on Sojiro's face made Akira's tummy go warm with pride, glad that he'd done something good. It wasn't hard to guess, but he loved being praised when he felt small, for even the smallest things like remembering his pleases and thank yous.
Before Sojiro could say anything else, the sound of the cafe door opening could be heard, and his papa stood up with a sigh. Though it changed into a much calmer expression when Futaba poked her head up after rushing up the stairs.
"I heard he's baby!" She spoke excitedly as she moved over to the bed, squishing Akira's cheeks around his pacifier.
"I'm surprised you're up this early." Sojiro chuckled, as he made his way over to the stairs. "Can you keep an eye on him? I need to get his breakfast." Futaba nodded in response, only really half paying attention to what he said, too busy now playing the new game she'd taught Akira, pat-a-cake. She'd been training him, so he would easily stun everyone with how fast he could play it, but today wasn't a good hand coordination day evidently. He struggled to clap the right hand, but Futaba let him be, clapping and cooing when he did manage to get it right, and softly encouraging him when he didn't. Unsurprisingly, he grew tired of the game when he was struggling, and pouted at Futaba as he cuddled with the bear Sojiro had gotten him, who had lovingly been named Mr Beans. Futaba took it in her stride, instead running her fingers through his hair, watching as he struggled to stay awake.
"Momo not with you?" He asked, after a little yawn escaped his mouth, the pacifier he had in his mouth tumbling out onto the pillow, much to his dismay. Futaba shook her head as she picked the pacifier up, putting it back in Akira's mouth and pulling out her phone as it pinged. It was a message from Ann, asking if anyone was with Akira yet, and that she'd be over in around half an hour. Akira reached for the phone, pouting when Futaba giggled, letting him press the buttons to his heart's content, unable to stop herself from laughing when he hit the call button by accident, whining when he saw himself on the screen. A moment or so later, Yusuke appeared on the screen instead, earning a gasp from the baby.
"Hello, little one. I thought it was odd for Futaba to be calling." Yusuke's voice came through the phone, and Akira began bouncing happily at the sight of one of his other caregivers. That earned him a chuckle from both Yusuke and Futaba, who watched the little's actions, their hearts warming at the sight. Really, the only time you could see Akira so unabashedly happy was when he was regressed, and mostly in the mornings when he was still in such a sleepy state that he didn't worry.
"Shut up Inari, it might've been an emergency. It is an emergency, a cute one!" Futaba bickered back, Akira giggling along, before his cheeks were squished once again. "Just look at his little face! He wants love and attention!" She cried out, like it was an injustice that she was the only one there, and to Akira it was. He wanted to cuddle with everyone, and only Futaba was here.
"Yu-Yu come over?" He whined, pouting even more when both of his caregivers cooed at him. His pouting stopped when Yusuke nodded, turning his camera to show that he was on a train, and thankfully on his own.
"I'll be there soon, little one. I'm meeting with the others and then we'll be over. Be good?" Akira nodded so fast his pacifier almost fell out, and Futaba had to lean back out of the way. Yusuke waved, blowing Akira a kiss before hanging up.
They couldn't get here fast enough.