Tiger and bunny: Lucky to be a lady tonight

Chapter 32

Colored leaves broke free on the cool breeze and drifted downwards to the still green grass of Sternbild Park, one bright yellow one getting caught on Henry's shoulder, startling the four-month-old as he looked at it with curious green eyes before reaching out to grab it to try putting in his mouth.

"Ah, no, no...that's dirty! Yucky!" Kotetsu laughed, easing the leaf away from her son's mouth.

"Jaa!" Henry said, rolling over onto his belly; his favorite new trick he had learned how to do.

"We don't eat leaves, squirt." Barnaby laughed and rubbed Henry's back. "There are much better things to eat."

The boy wiggled and laughed as he reached for another leaf that had landed on the blanket they had laid out to sit on.

"I guess he likes leaves." The blond sighed and pulled out a small toy Henry could chew on and set it in front of him. "Chew on that, Buddy. That's much better for you than those leaves."

"He likes anything with pretty colors." Kotetsu laughed, scooping her son up in her arms and peppering his face with kisses, making the boy laugh and wiggle again before he was handed one of his toys.

"Most of the leaves are brown though. Brown isn't really a pretty color." He shrugged and tickled one of Henry's feet.

"These ones are yellow, and there are red and orange ones over there." She pointed out as Henry wiggled again.

"Gaado!"

"Still, most of them are brown." He picked up a dried leaf and flicked it at Kotetsu. "Tell me if it's tasty."

"Sorry, I don't eat rabbit food." Kotetsu laughed.

"Oh, my bad, let me feed it to our kid, who is half bunny." He laughed too and held another leaf close to Henry.

"Ahh!!" the baby boy reached for the leaf, crunching it in his small hands.

"Got to make your legs strong, don't we, squirt?"

"Nah, arms like his Mommy!" Kotetsu said, standing the boy up and gently moving his arms in punching movements.

"How about both? A bunny and a tiger. Fierce little guy, Henry is."

"He'd be too over-powered. Like Mommy and Daddy in one body as a hero."

"I'm okay with that. He can protect his family when he's older that way. Which reminds me, did you see Karina and Kaede the other day?" Barnaby smirked.

"No...why? Isn't Kaede at school studying?" Her daughter had gotten into Heroes Academy and was very busy with her studies, though she visited her father, brother, and stepfather every Sunday.

"Yes, she's at school, but they took a field trip the other day to Titan Industry, and Karina came out to meet all the students. Kaede ate lunch with him."

"Lunch? Like...a luncheon between friends or...a lunch date?"

"No idea, but I don't think it matters. They're good friends anyways."

"It matters...Kaede's my first baby..."

"You have to let her grow up sometime."

"Not until she's an adult legally."

"Well by then all the guys who wanted her will have moved on, and she'll be alone for her whole life. She'll end up like I would have been."

"No she won't. You found me, didn't you? I found you, didn't I? Definitely not teenagers."

"I wouldn't have found you if I didn't become a hero." He leaned against her and sighed. "Just let Kaede experiment with love. It's a fascinating thing. Sure, she may have her heart broken, but that's happened to the both of us. We'd know how to comfort her if she ever experienced it. She won't learn if she doesn't try."