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Shinichi stood in the middle of his family kitchen, looking utterly dumbfounded.
His parents had to go to a press release for Yusaku's newest Night Baron book, meaning that it was up to the twins to watch... well, the twins.
Kona and Ai were barely one year old, which meant they couldn't stay home alone nor could they handle the travel distance and staying in a hotel.
Well, maybe they could, but Yukiko didn't want to risk it. She had horror stories of trying to take Kaito and Shinichi on trips when they were babies, and she apparently didn't want a repeat of it.
However, this meant that there were two 23 year olds who had never taken care of babies before, taking care of babies.
How hard could it be? Shinichi had said back when the task was given to them, and now...
One year old babies didn't need to have formula all the time, and in fact were slowly trotting into solid food territory.
Soft and easy to eat foods, diced or finely chopped, and lots of iron-rich food.
But uh, what did that mean exactly?
Shinichi rummaged around in the pantry, fridge, and cabinets, pulling out anything that could be considered okay for toddlers.
Eggs, bread, plenty of fruits and vegetables, pasta, rice, chicken and beef, yogurt, and cheese.
Okay, good first step. Now... how will they eat it?
Shinichi took out his phone and searched 『Foods that are safe for toddlers.』
The search engine provided him with a list of the exact things he had in front of him.
Backspace backspace backspace
『What kind of soft foods can toddlers eat』
"Pancakes, rice, steamed or mashed vegetables, diced fruits, ground meat... Okay, sounds easy enough."
Shinichi rolled up his sleeves and... wait, he doesn't actually know how to cook. Well, he knew some basic things of course.
"Hm... No point in overthinking it."
Shinichi made what he knew was easiest; hard-boiled eggs, toast, and steamed rice. He dumped everything into colorful bowls and placed them on the table.
Next, he gathered the twins (who were off playing with their toys) and plopped them into their highchairs.
When he presented the bowl to them, they looked confused.
"What's wrong?" Shinichi asked, as if the twins were articulate enough to respond back to him. "It's breakfast! You can have as much as you like."
Kona and Ai looked at him, then back at the bowls. As if understanding this was the best they were gonna get, they slowly began scooping spoonfuls of the meal into their mouths.
Shinichi didn't really understand their reaction. Sure, he wasn't a great cook like Subaru, Yukiko, or Kaito, but he made sure everything was properly prepared and edible! So what was the problem?
Shinichi ate a spoonful himself and grimaced.
It...doesn't taste like anything...
―
When Kaito returned home, he noticed that all three of his siblings looked downcast.
"What happened? You'd think there was a funeral going on in here!"
Shinichi pointed to the half-eaten food on the table.
"The twins didn't like my cooking."
Kaito's eyebrows raised in shock. "You can cook without burning the house down?"
"That's not funny." Shinichi frowned, to which Kaito laughed.
"It's a little funny!" He scooped up the plates and went into the kitchen, taking out a frying pan and some bottles from the pantry.
Shinichi and the twins peered over the couch at him, and Kaito likened them to a bunch of meerkats.
He mixed up the food, heated it in the pan, then added soy sauce and ketchup. He set the reheated rice aside and prepared some omelets, making sure to fully cook the serving for the twins, before plating everything and handing it over.
"Three plates of omurice!"
Shinichi looked down at the plate, grimacing at the fact Kaito had drawn Kid's insignia in ketchup on the egg.
"...
"How did you do that?"
Kaito shrugged, washing his hands and filling two sippy cups with juice. He then got two glass cups and a bottle of ginseng tea from the fridge before grabbing himself a pint of chocolate ice cream and sitting beside them on the couch. The twins were already scarfing their food down, so Kaito handed out the cups and drinks before sitting back.
"It was just rice and hard-boiled eggs. All I had to do was season and fry the rice and then cover them in an omelet. Super easy."
Shinichi slowly ate his serving, sitting in silence with the others. While he was glad that Kaito wasn't teasing him for his failure in cooking, he felt a fire be lit under him. Metaphorically of course.
I'm gonna improve my cooking, surely it can't be that hard.
...
Maybe I can ask Kaito for help.
"Hey, Kaito..." Shinichi turned, seeing Kaito sneakily spooning ice cream into the twins' mouths.
"..."
"..."
"That's too much sugar, they can't have that!!"
"I-it's just a couple spoons worth!"
“It’s too much sugar, I said!” Shinichi swiped the pint of ice cream from him, but when he looked down at his hands, there was instead a throw pillow.
When did he—
Kaito hopped over the edge of the sofa, running back over to the kitchen. Shinichi put his plate down and hopped right over, keeping in hot pursuit.
“There’s nothing wrong with giving them a little sugar!”
“If you didn’t think there was anything wrong then WHY ARE YOU RUNNING??”
“BECAUSE YOU’RE GONNA HIT ME IF YOU CATCH ME!”
From the couch, the twins clapped their hands and laughed. They were too young to see anything wrong, and simply thought their older brothers were just playing a game. To Kaito it might actually be a game, but Shinichi was out for blood.
He could handle Kaito being the better cook, but if he sneaks them ice cream when Shinichi is right there, then who knows what he feeds them when Shinichi isn’t looking!
Kaito did a flip over the couch as they rounded the living room again, with Shinichi clean vaulting over it after him. They were on a bee-line towards the stairs when the front door opened.
“I brought you guys some leftover treats from Sonoko’s house party, how about we make some coffee and…” Ran blinked, looking at the scene in front of her. Two toddlers on the couch, toppled over from laughing, and the two adults frozen mid sprint. “Am… I interrupting something?”
Kaito took the distraction to run over to Ran, hiding behind her and grinning. “Nope, nothing! So what’d you bring?”
“Oh, you think hiding behind Ran is gonna save you-” Shinichi paused at the fierce look in her eyes. What happened??
“Shinichi. Are you bullying Kaito-kun again?”
“Hah?? I never bu-” Shinichi paused, realizing that that wasn’t exactly the truth. “...Well, he’s bullied me way more than I have him…”
Ran crossed her arms. “So you admit that you are bullying him.”
“Wait, no, you’re misunderstanding!”
Both Ran and Shinichi glanced at Kaito, who had a pathetic kicked puppy expression on his face. Which only fueled Ran’s ire more.
“Ran! You have to stop falling for his puppy-dog eyes! He’s turning you against me!”