Shopping for the kids

Babies are really tiny creatures, aren't they? I had known that, but not fully comprehended it until I had one in my arms. I was anxious to hold my siblings, being as small and fragile as they are, but I had been convinced by my parents. Dad was at my side, grinning like a fool but prepared to catch my sister if I somehow drop her. That was my only relief because I really don't trust myself holding a child this young. She weighs almost nothing in my arms and she's very warm even through the blanket they wrapped her in. Her tiny hands are waving through the air in no clear pattern and when I offer my finger she holds on as tightly as she can. Why do babies have such strength, I wonder. When they grab something it's near impossible to get it away from them.

There's the snap of a camera and I'm looking at the smiling Leon who had been standing guard at the door. He's grinning like a Cheshire cat as he holds up my camera and I resist the urge to send him flying with a strong wind. How did he get my camera without my notice? I carry that thing with me everywhere I go just in case there is something I would like to forever remember. It was in my backpack and my backpack is still on my back so how in the hell had he gotten my camera?

"You thief" my accusation does nothing to make him guilty, instead he smiles wider and snaps another photo.

"I'm no thief, I'm just borrowing it"

"Well you better give it back" and it better be in perfect condition. I don't want a single scratch on my camera. I had gotten it as a gift from aunt Iris on my sixth birthday and I absolutely love it. It has amazing quality and the memory card has an outrageous amount of space in it. I'm no photographer, but I do find enjoyment in snapping pictures when I'm interested.

Man I have a lot of hobbies

I'm brought back to my sister when she so casually puts my finger in her mouth. Of course, anything that infants touch must immediately go to their mouths, that is the way they discover the world.

"You can't eat my finger" I tug away as gently as I can. With my finger out of her grip, she begins to fidget, clearly not happy about losing what she thought to be her toy. "You don't know where my hand is been and it's not a toy"

"You realize she doesn't understand right?" Mom had to question to which I give her a blank look. I know that, but I can still talk to her.

"And where has your hand been?" The question comes as a joke from my father because he knows that I washed my hands before accepting my sister.

"Ah, well my hand was contaminated, that's why I washed it before"

"How was your hand contaminated?"

"I made the terrible mistake of touching Leon, you know. Just terrible, I had to get the filth off immediately, lest I contaminate my sister as well"

I swear my dad choked on nothingness as he tried and failed to swallow the laughter that had suddenly erupted with my words. My mother would scold me, or perhaps she should, but how could she when I'm this way because of her. Instead, she hides her own amusement and she does a far more successful job than my father.

"Why are you picking on me today?" The man sounded as if he was about to cry, but I knew better. This guy is internally laughing at himself. I like people like that, people who can take a joke and not get easily offended. That's why Leon is an amazing guy and I actually like spending time with him whenever he shows himself. Even when he's not around I would sometimes seek out his thoughts, curious to know what kind of stupid jokes he would be telling when I found him.

"Nah, the real question is why don't you bite back?"

"I'm too nice for that"

"Yeah, sure"

"Alright, cut it out" dad decides to be a mediator even though he is not needed for that role. My baby sister is taken from me and brought to my mother, I suppose it's time for her to eat now. I'm left to watch my younger brother, who is fast asleep in his crib. He has been sleeping for a while now, but when he's awake he's very energetic. Meanwhile, my sister has a somewhat contained energy and doesn't sleep as long as my brother. There's already a difference between them.

"Don't you have to go to work old man?" I hadn't questioned it when I found him here at the hospital again. I don't think he left since yesterday, most likely he stayed to watch the kids and his woman.

Dad then tells me that Sol had given him time off to spend with us. That man really is a nice guy for doing that. Apparently, dad has up to a month off work as Sol promised not to call him in no matter what.

"Zen, Leon, I've got a job for you two" Dad takes me by the shoulder and leads me to the door to join Leon. Since I'm in reach I snatch my camera away from him with a glare and I hope he knows never to take it again, lest he wants to wake up with some bruises. "We don't have clothes for the babies. We had decided to buy once the kid was born so you understand. Now I gotta ask the two of you to go shopping for the kids. You'll also need to buy an extra crib and feel free to buy whatever toys you think the kids would need"

Before I can even say anything, this man hands me a single card, a card so amazing it takes me a moment to fully process it. It's a dark card with golden highlights on the edges and for some reason, it just seems so amazing to me. Is this the equivalent to a black card? Why yes, I think it is. I sometimes forget how rich my parents are and this sure helps to put things back into perspective. I wonder how much money is on this thing, perhaps enough to buy everything Endeavor owns. My father is trusting me with this card, not Leon, but me because he tells me this personally. He says that I am in charge of everything and that Leon is simply my chauffeur and bodyguard and of course the adult figure I will need.

I hate to admit it but this makes me feel privileged and I squash that feeling as soon as it appears. I'm still very smug though.

"Oh, and get yourself a phone, I think you need one" he pats me on the head before returning to my mother, leaving me very much in shock.

"I'm really in charge of spending the money?"

"Yeah"

"You sure?"

"Yeah" he chuckles at my behaviour while making some odd motion with his hands. "Run along"

Damn, my father really trusts me, doesn't he? The absolute confidence he has in my ability to properly spend money is unbelievable to me because I am just a child. No matter how mature I mentally am, I am still a child to him, but he doesn't treat me that way sometimes.

I'm kinda happy he understands that I can do certain things on my own and even encourages me.

Top tier father, I tell ya.

~~~~~~~

Being a somewhat sheltered child I am not used to running errands nor am I used to shopping for so much until now. There's a sort of wonder I feel at having been given such a task even when I'm strolling through isles and isles of baby clothes. Leon is close behind me, chest broad and arms at his side as he glances this way and that. He's on guard mode and has been since we stepped foot out of the car. He's smiling though, a lazy tilt of his lips that gives him a somewhat nonchalant air, attracting nearly all the women present in the store. He's a looker for sure and the women present very much agree with this statement as some of them seem to have suddenly forgotten about the ring on their finger.

Does he even realize the effect he has?

At some point, we get ourselves a cart which Leon takes charge of while I gather clothes for the kids. I get everything from onesies, pants, shirts, dresses and skirts, anything I think would look good on the kids. I even find clothes with the first letter of their names for them. Maybe I'll have their names printed on some of their clothes later, it would look cute. I don't buy an abundance of pink and blue clothes, Nah, that's not gonna happen. Though pink and blue clothes are abundant, so much so that I'm starting to get tired of the colours. We end up in some kind of hero section containing one-piece suits resembling hero costumes and I immediately spot one resembling Sol's. I buy it just to show it off to my father and maybe Sol if he comes to see the kids. Hey, there's even an All Might suit here.

"I think this should do" the cart is almost full of baby clothing so I'm very confident that it is enough. They'll grow out of it at some point, best not buy a ridiculous amount. Now I need to get them some toys, I guess.

Good thing the store has a toy section as well.

Baby toys are always so simple and somewhat generic for I find rattles of all kinds in all type of colours. The toy section is colourful enough to cause me actual pain.

"Ah rattles, they'll get on your nerves very quickly, I promise you"

And I believe you, Leon, I truly do because I know they'll be shaking these things endlessly.

Rattles, soft balls, some chewy things, a play mat, some walking assist thing...I don't know the names of these things, I just know what they're for and that should serve to be enough for this trip.

I'm curious to know how much all of this will cost.

We get to the counter to get everything scanned, Leon is handed the card, the woman at the counter obviously flirts with him, I have to resist the urge to gag.

Miss, I understand that Leon here is very gorgeous and you can think of many, many things to do to this beautiful Hispanic man, but please, please, try to reign in your thoughts because they are scandalous.

Damn, she's making me blush with what's running through her mind.

"Hey, you okay kid, I think you're blushing," Leon asks when we leave the store. This man is easily carrying everything to the car as if that box in his hand doesn't weigh a ton.

"That woman has the hots for you"

"I realized" he's chuckling, but I don't think he fully understands my situation until a few seconds later when he abruptly stops. "Oh"

"Yea" I'm kind of impressed with how detailed that woman had been.

"I'm sorry"

"It's okay"

"So..."

"Don't ask"

I am not going to relay that woman's thoughts to him, nope, not at all.

It takes a few minutes for us to get everything in the car, but once done we're off to another store. I had completely forgotten that my father had told me to get a phone. I didn't even think about getting a phone until this point. I had no need for it for the past five years, having got everything I need at my house. I mean my days are spent studying, training and then later I dedicate myself to one of my hobbies or perhaps I play some video games. There is plenty to entertain me and I have no one to call except my cousin, but we communicate via the game anyways.

I never thought I would never have need for a phone before.

Leon is the one to pick out a phone for me because I really don't know anything about phones in this world. The process is over very quickly, with me choosing a phone case and him paying for the purchase. We're leaving after that and I don't wait to inspect the acquired device. The box is very much like what I'm used to, but the phone is of a company I never heard of. It's the latest and the best, Leon had told me and I took his word for it. It's big in my small hands but very sleek and pretty cool. It's a touch, which is good since it offers familiarity. The first thing I do when I get on it is try out the camera. I don't know why, but it's the first thing I thought of and in all honesty, if the camera quality impresses me, I'll cherish the phone.

The camera doesn't let me down, having quality that can compare to my camera. I guess it's a pretty good phone

Still, I don't think I'll use it much other than for calls. The only people I'll be getting calls from are my parents and maybe Leon, but that's about it. I don't have any friends after all.

I really hope my friendless situation doesn't make me socially awkward when it comes the time to interact with others my age. I really do not want to relive those terrible middle school years where I struggled to make friends because of my social inability. Those were terrible and the kids were absolute monsters, having picked on me for being a "nerd".

Yeah, that's not happening again.

I did grow out of it come high school though and had gathered a tiny group of friends that I appreciated, so there's a highlight.

Thinking about my school life has me realizing how little I had accomplished in my past life and how many experiences I had missed out on. I had just started college, having barely entered the real world when I tripped down the stairs like a certain "Another" character.

Hell, I never had a relationship before, I never got drunk, in fact, I never went to a bar, I never got myself a car, I never went to those crazy parties. I really missed out on a lot and I can't understand why I had missed out. What was I doing that was so important to me? Why wasn't I living life to the fullest?

I never took the time to think about what had been before now.

"I never had a relationship"

Dammit!

I died a freaking virgin in every aspect of the word!