Gold, Raven, & Lavender: An Erasermic Family Fanfic

Chapter 5: Not Exactly a Walk in the Park

The first few weeks of guardianship were rough to say the least. While Aizawa's diligent studies and Hizashi's prior childcare experience certainly gave them a small edge, it didn't fully prepare them for living full-time with an infant. Both heroes, Aizawa especially, were no strangers to keeping odd hours and having sporadic sleep schedules due to their professions. But no amount of crime-fighting could have prepared them for Shinsou's adjustment period.

At the time, baby Hitoshi was still unused to his surroundings and would wake up at all hours of the night crying inconsolably. It took hours for the men to soothe him enough to sleep, only to have him wake maybe an hour later bawling his eyes out yet again. All three of them developed dark circles under their eyes and cranky dispositions by the end of the first week, even Hizashi. Shouta had been the worst by far. He was so spacey and sleep-deprived, he'd accidentally filled a few baby bottles with coffee instead of formula. And so foul-tempered that he'd narrowly missed Hizashi's head after hurling said bottles against the wall in frustration.

By week two, Hitoshi had finally begun to settle in and was largely sleeping through the night. Despite his fitful first week, Hitoshi turned out to be a relatively quiet baby. While both Aizawa and Hizashi ensured he got as much playtime and stimulation as possible, Shinsou was largely content to just be held and cuddled. However, this desire for physical affection led him to develop a penchant for grabbing hair, Hizashi's in particular. Shinsou was also a curious child, seemingly fascinated by the world around him and taking it all in with a pensive, purple stare. And it was during this second week the heroes discovered Shinsou's greatest enemy: baths.

During his first week at home, they'd givien Shinsou warm sponge baths in lieu of using the tub, not wanting to stress him out further. But by the middle of week two, Shouta felt confident a bath would be both beneficial and soothing for the tyke. All the childcare articles and books he'd spent hours poring over said so! Oh, how wrong he was.

The moment Shouta lowered Hitoshi into the water he started fussing and practically clawing at the Shouta's arm in distress. Shouta initially chalked up his reaction to the sudden change in temperature. It was a bit chillier in the house, after all. So he decided to gently pour some of the water over Hitoshi's head and let him gradually adjust to the water's warmth.

"Easy, buddy," Shouta soothed, filling a plastic cup with water and raising it above Shinsou as he spoke. "It's just water, see? It can't hurt you. It'll make you feel nice and warm, like this."

He gently tipped the cup so a small trickle landed on the baby's soft lavender hair.

That simple action unleashed an ungodly tantrum; the baby went from fussing to blood-curdling screams, flailing and splashing so hard Shouta nearly lost his grip on him a few times. By the time the ordeal was over, Shouta was drenched and covered with tiny scratch marks all along his arms. Upon catching sight of his husband looking like a drowned rat, Hizashi doubled over in peals of laughter, nearly to the point of tears.

"Babe, when I said it was somebody's bath time I didn't mean yours! What'd you do, get in the tub with him?"

"Oh shut up, Hizashi! This kid hates water." Shiuta snapped, jerking his head towards the still sniffling baby bundled in his arms, "Nearly clawed my eyes out when I went to rinse the soap out of his hair. He's like a damn cat!"

"Awww, is that true little guy?" Mic cooed at Shinsou, reaching out to ruffle his damp, lavender locks. "Did you try to blind Shouta? You poor thing. Bet you wouldn't do that to your buddy Hizashi though, hm?"