FIC: The Babysitters (Kero, Yue, Gen)

[shiiki]

Title: The Babysitters
Author: shiiki
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Keroberos, Li Syaoran/Sakura Kinomoto, Yue, OC, Gen
Fandom: Cardcaptor Sakura
Word Count: 2,163

Summary: Babysitting is not as easy as it seems -- especially when the baby belongs to two powerful mages, and turns out to possess a fair bit of skill himself!

Notes: Written for beansidhe_baby, who requested Kero and Yue babysitting Sakura and Syaoran's baby for the tsukimineshrine Secret Santa Exchange.

Link to fic at tsukimineshrine



'I'm not sure that's such a good idea,' said Syaoran, frowning. After all, plans that began inside Keroberos's mind generally weren't.

Keroberos put his hands on his hips and affected a stern look. It might have been more convincing if Keroberos had not been in what Syaoran never failed to call his 'stuffed animal' form. Then again, he doubted that it would have looked impressive even if Keroberos had been in his true form.

'How much trouble can he be? It won't be a problem at all.'

'I'm hardly worried about how much trouble he is to you.'

'I'll have you know that I can look after a baby perfectly well,' said Keroberos, looking affronted now.

'And you say this because you have ... how much experience?'

'I don't recall you having a long list of credentials before knocking Sakura up.'

Syaoran glared. 'Watch your mouth, stuffed animal.'

It was probably a good thing that Sakura entered the room at that moment, as otherwise, their conversation would have degenerated into the same long-standing argument that had been going on for years. Some things never changed.

'What's going on?' As Sakura glanced from him to Keroberos, Syaoran noted with a pang that she really was exhausted. Her usually-bright eyes were dull and tired, her expression lacking the vim and energy that she'd always had, and her movements seemed so mechanical.

'Nothing,' he said with a sigh. 'How's Wei Long?'

'Finally sleeping.' Sakura gave him a wan smile. 'This teething business is tough.'

All those sleepless nights with the baby, Syaoran thought guiltily. Sakura, ever the conscientious mother, had been up practically every night for the past week, rocking and comforting their young son when he wailed in wee hours. Wei Long was teething, and it was apparently a terribly painful ordeal, for the poor babe hardly stopped crying. Syaoran was feeling rather frazzled himself, having stayed up several nights as well until Sakura shooed him off to bed, telling him to get some sleep or he'd never make it through work the next day. He'd felt like pleading with Sakura to use the Sleep card at times, even though he agreed with her in principle that they shouldn't use magic that might affect their son's natural sleeping rhythms.

She deserved a rest. She deserved a nice weekend away from home, free of crying babies and chores and cooking, a short but refreshing break where he could make sure she was properly pampered. And with Meilin's Christmas party coming up, it would be a perfect time to take her out.

Keroberos gave him a significant look before drifting out of the room towards the nursery. Syaoran's brows furrowed. He supposed he could see some merit in Keroberos's plan ...

'Dearest,' said Syaoran, putting an arm around his wife, 'I think you need a good rest.'

'Daijoubu,' said Sakura automatically. 'It'll be all right. The worst is over -- I'm sure he'll sleep through tonight, and we can get some too.'

Well, it was a relief to hear that. Still, a full night's sleep wasn't the only thing she'd need.

'You know Meilin's having her Christmas party next Saturday, right?'

Sakura pulled away, her eyes widening. 'Oh no, I forgot!' She closed her eyes briefly and rubbed between her eyes. 'I'm sorry, I had so much to do, I just ... it just slipped my mind. Oh dear, I feel so bad ... I'll have to send my regrets ...'

'No -- no, I didn't mean to worry you. I just thought that maybe we could go out that weekend -- just us.'

'Oh, that would be ...' For a moment the beautiful sparkle that he loved flared in her eyes, making them stand out brilliantly in her pale face. Then she sighed. 'But how? Everyone will be at the party. I couldn't ask any of our friends to miss it so I could have fun. We wouldn't be able to get a babysitter.'

'Well, not everyone need be at the party.'

She looked at him quizzically.

I can't believe I'm actually advocating this. But -- just one time -- what harm could it do? 'Keroberos's offered to look after Wei Long.'

Sakura's expression clouded over into one which could only be described as doubtful. Syaoran felt a moment of vindication -- it wasn't just him that believed Keroberos wouldn't be a stellar babysitter. Then she brightened again.

'Maybe ...' she dimpled mischievously, 'you know how Onii-chan and Yukito-chan were thinking of adopting? Yukito-chan was saying that he thought Yue-san needed to spend some time around a baby, to get used to the idea.'

'Well, I'd definitely feel a lot more at ease if I knew someone else besides Keroberos were around!'

Sakura grinned and moved closer to him, putting her face up for a kiss.

---

It was thus that Saturday morning found Yue leaning coolly against the hall wall and looking completely unconcerned as Kero repeated reassured an anxious-looking Sakura that everything was going to be absolutely fine.

'... and if he still doesn't drift off, try warm milk -- not too hot, of course, and ...'

'Hai, Sakura,' said Kero. 'Just go already, everything is going to be fine here. I have it all in hand. Wei Long will be no trouble at all, believe me.'

'You're not to use the cards on him,' Sakura said suspiciously. 'Promise!'

'Of course not! I don't need magic to handle a baby.'

'Okay. I trust you, Kero.' She leaned down to kiss his cheek. 'Take good care of him.'

'Or else,' muttered her husband in an undertone, clearing meant for Kero. He decided not to dignify Li with an answer.

'Go have fun!' he told Sakura. And at last, they were out of the house.

There was silence after the door shut behind Li and Sakura. Wei Long was sound asleep in the nursery, and Kero was optimistic about him sleeping through the night. The past week had been a much better one for the poor kid.

Yue, surprisingly, broke the silence. 'You're certainly confident.'

'What's there to worry about? One little baby is no match for this guardian.'

Yue snorted. 'We'll see.' He sighed softly. 'I suppose one of us had better go keep watch over the nursery in case he wakes up.'

'I'll do it,' Kero volunteered cheerfully. 'You just make yourself at home. Or if you want to come up too, watch and learn!'

With a disdainful glance at him, Yue glided away towards the living room. Kero shook his head. 'Silly old thing,' he said, and headed up the stairs.

Kero's room -- ostensibly known to visitors as the 'Game Room' -- was next to the nursery, which was just as well. He figured that if Wei Long woke (there didn't seem to be any danger of that, given that the baby was peacefully sucking his thumb when Kero peeked in to check), there'd be enough noise to wake the dead, let alone one guardian beast in the next room with super-sharp hearing. Leaving the doors slightly ajar, he settled down on the floor with his video console.

---

In the living room downstairs, Yue was floating two inches off the ground, his arms crossed as he generally did when meditating. This time, though, he was contemplating the perversity of Touya and Yukito. A baby. They wanted a baby, a tiny being that would make copious amounts of noise and take up all of Touya's time. And given Yukito's enthusiasm for the idea and Yue's own reluctance, he could only imagine how little body time he would get once they acquired the little monster and had to deal with it.

Speaking of crying, that son of Sakura's was likely to start wailing any time now, and Keroberos was a fool if he thought otherwise. Yue didn't think much of his brother's ability to soothe a crying child.

Still, better him than me.

As he'd expected, the crying began soon enough. Surprisingly, though, it was not very loud: a low, whining sort of sound that drifted irregularly down the stairs. Yue waited for Keroberos to attend to Wei Long, for him to be hushed, but the cries continued softly for a minute ... two ... three ...

Was Keroberos having trouble after all? Or had he even gone to tend to the baby at all? Yue shifted uneasily. It would be just like that irresponsible creature, falling asleep on his watch. He allowed himself one long-suffering sigh before heading up to take a look.

The higher up the stairs he got, the louder the wailing became. It had an oddly tinny quality. Beneath it, Yue could hear strains of video-game music emanating from the Game Room: clear indication of exactly what Keroberos was up to. Yue considered storming in and dragging his brother out by his tail -- but he passed by the nursery first, and decided to peek in.

A shock awaited him: the room was empty. No crying baby. Just a crib occupied by a single plush animal.

'The imbecile,' Yue growled.

The strange whining, he realised now, was also coming from the Game Room. Did Keroberos have the baby in there with him?

Upon flinging open the door to the Game Room, he finally discovered that the 'crying' was only another sound effect of Keroberos's infernal video game. His blasted brother barely even glanced up as he punched his fist in the air, having evidently made a virtual conquest.

'What d'you want?' Keroberos kept his eyes on the screen. Yue frowned and moved to block Keroberos's view of his game. 'Hey!'

'He's missing.'

'Huh?'

'Wei Long is missing.'

'What?!' Keroberos dropped his console and flew out of the room into the next. When he verified that Wei Long's room was indeed empty, he demanded, 'What've you done with him?'

Yue glared at him. 'In case you've forgotten, you were supposed to be watching him.'

'Well, we have to find him! Come on -- we'll start with-'

They were spared the necessity of combing the house, however, by a flash of light that burst out suddenly from the master bedroom. Yue and Keroberos shared one worried glance before dashing towards the room.

The good thing was, the baby was in the room and appeared to be unharmed.

Unfortunately, he was also six feet in the air.

Little Wei Long was lying on his back, tiny clenched fists waving about in the air. Above his head, fifty-two Sakura cards circled languidly. One of them was glowing. The last card, Float, Yue presumed, was supporting the baby.

'Uh-oh,' breathed Keroberos, and Yue had to agree with him. Had the cards gone wild somehow?

Wei Long burped and giggled. He was, by all appearances, enjoying himself. 'Gah!' he cried, and another card lit up. Yue recognised Arrow as she began to take her true form, weapon in hand ...

'No!' he gasped, realising a split second before she let the arrow fly. He dove rather ungracefully aside. The arrow sailed into the wall, causing it to crack. Wei Long squealed.

'Pah,' said the baby. This time it was Rain who lit up and materialised, drenching the entire room.

'Okay, that's enough!' growled Keroberos. He swooped over Wei Long and dug his paws into the baby's nightie, dragging him downwards. 'You, you, and you, back to your card forms!'

Arrow, Float, and Glow vanished, returning docilely to dormancy at their guardian's command.

'Get rid of rain!' ordered Keroberos. Yue complied, though he preferred to control his cards silently.

His toys confiscated, Wei Long turned huge eyes on the two of them, big and brown like his father's, and now filling up rapidly with tears. Yue braced himself for the inevitable.

'Waaaaaaaaah!'

Keroberos, who had been slowly descending him to Sakura and Syaoran's bed, flinched. 'Don't -- no -- stop.' He laid the baby on the pillows and flew round to face him. 'Er --'

'I hope you know what you're doing,' said Yue.

'Of course I do.' And then Keroberos proceeded to make the most incomprehensible noises at the baby. He followed it up with a ridiculous sort of dance which was obviously meant to entertain. Unfortunately Wei Long was having none of it. He continued to wail inconsolably. Yue decided that drastic measures were necessary. He took a deep breath and stepped forward into the fray.

He picked Wei Long up.

The baby was absurdly light. Yue cradled him carefully, bringing him closer. Miraculously, his crying lessened. Yue tried rocking. He subsided to soft sniffles. Yue gazed at him, a little in awe. He'd comforted a baby -- and it didn't seem so bad after all.

'All right, that's great; I'll take over from here.'

Yue shook his head. 'I think I ought to take care of him. You can figure out what to do with Sakura's room.'

And with an uncharacteristic smirk at his fuming brother, he carried Wei Long back to the nursery. Maybe, he thought, there really was something to this baby thing.