[Akane]

 

I woke up groggily and blinked my eyes. "Mm?"

I looked to see the baby gone! "Ryusuke?!"

Then, I turned my head and found my father carrying Ryusuke.

I sighed in relief. "Almost had a heart attack there..."

Ranma walked into the room looking half-dead and patted Ryusuke on the head. "Hey, Squirt."

Ryusuke again reached out for Ranma. And dad gave him to Ranma before Ranma could protest. Again, Ranma held Ryusuke in front of him. "How did 'ya sleep? Akane wasn't rough on you, right? Man, if you ever saw her with P-chan-"

I hit Ranma's head. "We slept just fine, didn't we, Ryusuke?"

Ryusuke gurgled at me.

I then started to fold the futon and put it in one of the hall closets. When I came back, I stopped and didn't enter just yet. I peeped from the doorway and stiffled my giggling as I saw Ranma lecture to Ryusuke.

"Here, Squirt." Ranma handed the bottle to Ryusuke and helped him hold it up.

Ryusuke held the bottle as he sat on the floor looking at Ranma.

"You've gotta drink lots of milk." Then, he flexed his arm and showed how muscular it was. "Then, you'll grow up big and strong. Like me."

The baby took out the bottle from his mouth and laughed. Then, he went back to drinking his milk again.

"I hope he doesn't grow up to be an idiot like you." I was stumbling into the den and laughing hysterically. "Just having a baby here totally changes your personality, doesn't it, Ranma?"

He stuck his lip out like a child. "No."

"You don't have to pout, dummy." I took Ryusuke into my arms so that he could burp.

As I patted him, I said, "So, Ranma was trying to lecture you, huh?"

"Then, why do I gotta go, huh?" Ranma complained to dad and Mr. Saotome as he put his shoes on.

"Well, you don't have to go." I waited for him impatiently.

"It's your obligation as you are her fiance, Ranma!" Dad said.

Mr. Saotome's panda sign confirmed, "That's right."

"I said I don't-"

I put my palm on my forehead as my dad screamed at Ranma with his monster head.

"Okay, okay already!" Ranma scrambled out of the house.

"WAH!!!!!"

"Now look what you did, Dad!" I stomped off while patting Ryusuke, who was strapped to my back. "Yoshi, yoshi."

We walked out of our house.

"Yoshi, yoshi." But Ryusuke continued to cry. "It's okay. It's okay."

I turned to Ranma, who held the baby's bag on one shoulder. "Can you please help me out here, Ranma?!"

"See? What will you do without me, Akane?"

Annoyed, I retorted. "I'll let that go for now."

He took him off my back and and I carried Ryusuke in my arms. And so, I patted him on the back again. I looked down at him. That cute, scared face...

"It's okay. There's nothing more to cry about." Ryusuke gradually stopped crying. "Now that's a good baby."

I kissed him on the forehead and clutched him close.

"So tomboys actually DO have soft sides!"

I stuck out my tongue at him. "That doesn't include being nice to jerks."

He eyed me and smirked. "Why you..."

I giggled.

"Let's stop here, Ranma."

We both entered the supermarket.

"He needs at least two more bottles."

"Okay." He looked around. "I think they should be in this direction."

When we reached the correct aisle of the supermarket, we looked at the different types of bottles.

"I didn't know there were so much of these," Ranma commented.

I replied, "Gee, do you think there was this many when we were born?"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno."

"This one will do." I picked up a cute bottle. "It has a rubber duck's picture on it."

Then, I started to wave it in front of Ryusuke. "You like it, don't you?"

"Aw, come on, he's a boy. You don't give a boy a duck."

"So, you don't like my tastes in bottles, either?"

"Yeah! Think about the little squirt!" Ranma held out a bottle with a robot on it. "He'll like this one!"

Some people were laughing at us and we looked at each other.

"Well, Squirt," Ranma asked as he held both of the bottles out. "Which one do you want?"

Ryusuke grabbed both of them.

Ranma and I looked at each other again and sighed.

When we exited the supermarket, Ranma looked at Ryusuke and pretended to be mad. "How are we going to explain to your parents that you have six bottles instead of two?"

Ryusuke clapped his hands and squealed at us.

"I told you we should have just bought one pair, Ranma."

"But why didn't you just listen to me, Akane?"

We eyed each other.

"I think I should know what a boy likes, Akane." Ranma put his hands on the back of his head. "I am one."

"You're technically half of one now, Ranma."

"Now wait just a minute. You don't hafta-" he stopped as soon as I stopped walking.

"Here, hand him over to me."

We exchanged what we were carrying.

"My arms just started to cramp..." I stretched my arms. "You never notice how heavy they are until you carry them for half a day."

"Yeah, but you don't know how much heavier you are when I end up carrying you."

A vein popped. I ended up twisting his ear. "You jerk."

"Ow, ow ow!"

--

Author's note: None today. ^_^