3. Comparisons

Onodera's mind short circuited. He turned his gaze from the stroller toward Kisa's confused face. A moment later, he scrambled up and pulled Kisa closer to his desk. He managed to maneuver Kisa around the stroller before it moved. Kisa yelped from the sudden action and almost tripped over a stack of books on the floor.

Kisa exclaimed in surprise. "Ricchan!"

Onodera lowered his voice. "Shh! Don't speak so loud. I managed to get him to sleep on the way over here." He let go of Kisa and checked through the plastic covering, Ryota remained asleep. "Phew. I think all that playing we did back home tuckered him out. I don't think he dirtied his diaper yet. I don't smell anything."

"Ricchan, I didn't know you had a baby." Kisa pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "I thought we told each other everything. All this time working together and you didn't have the heart to tell me. There's nothing wrong with having a baby out of wedlock. Mino-san has a son too."

"He's not mine! Well...not technically, I am related to him."

Kisa motioned for him to continue, impatient for his explanation. "And?"

"He's my cousin's son, Ryota." Onodera opened the plastic covering, revealing the baby. "I was supposed to be at home babysitting him. The tyrant called me after I finished giving him his lunch. I have him for the whole day and I didn't want to disturb Hanako at her job. Besides, I wasn't going to leave him to neighbors, I don't even know them."

Kisa soaked in the baby's features, his limited experience with babies kept him at a distance. He found Ryota adorable but he didn't want to have the baby cry because of him. A realization hit him and he blurted out in astonishment. "You do know he looks like a lot like the boss right?"

"Eh?!"

Kisa elaborated. "His hair for example, it's the same shade of black. He even has that deep set frown that Takano-san uses whenever he's yelling at us to finish our work. Hmm..he might even have the same yell as him as well."

"No, he does not! He looks like Ryuusuke, not Takano-san." At Onodera's exclamation, Ryota woke up, giving his own little yell. "Da—Darn, I woke him up."

Kisa deadpanned. "Ricchan, stop being delusional. He looks a lot like the boss." He looked back at the baby and noticed the bright green eyes and he snorted. "He has your eyes. You know he looks like your love child, right?"

"W-Why do you say that?"

"You're in a relationship with Takano-san. Am I right? I mean the signs are all there." Onodera stammered a lame retort, Kisa continued on. "You guys can play house with little Ryo-chan here. He can be the daddy and you're the mommy."

"No!" Ondoera's face turned bright red. "Stop saying such things. Anyway, let me try to get him back to sleep and we can get to work." He unbuckled Ryota from the stroller and propped him up.

Mino and Hatori entered the area, their conversation ceased at the sight of the stroller. Mino placed their cups of coffee on their desks and bee-lined toward the baby. His smile grew bigger at the sight of Ryota's smiling face. Hatori followed suit, surprised at seeing a child in their area.

"Who's this little guy?"

Onodera collected himself and answered. "Ryota. Before you get the wrong impression, he's my cousin's baby, not mine."

Mino nodded his head. "Ah, okay." He leaned down and pinched Ryota's cheeks. "Hello, Ryota. It's a pleasure to meet you. My, you have such a nice smile."

Kisa grinned. "He's going to be a heart stopper when he grows up."

Hatori addressed Onodera. "Are you sure you can multi-task taking care of the baby and your work? We have a deadline to reach later on this week."

Onodera sighed, watching Ryota from the corner of his eyes. "I didn't know I was coming into work today. I counted on staying home all day today and looking after him. His mom didn't have anyone else willing to look after him. I tried telling Takano-san that I was too busy to come into work today. He demanded I come in anyway, I had no other choice."

"I understand." Hatori glanced at the giggling baby. "He seems like an easy one to take care of."

"Yeah, kids have it so much easier than us." Onodera rubbed the back of his neck, he went to his desk and shuffled his work into smaller piles. "What exactly do we have to get finished today?"

Mino and Kisa returned to their desks but spared a minute to gain Ryota's attention. Everyone settled in a decent pace, checking over pages, waving at the energetic baby. Ryota was distracted with the pink colors and plush animals littering the department. No one grew annoyed at his babbling or noises when he tried reaching for something. As the closest one, Onodera handed him one of the toys without any choke able hazards on it.

Their sudden work flow lasted for five minutes before Onodera stood up from his desk. Finding no other choice, Onodera clasped his hands in front of him and bowed. "Please, look after Ryota while I go to the bathroom? He's easy to look after and I'll try to come back real quick."

Mino smiled. "I find no problem with looking after him. He's already entertained enough."

"Thanks! Oh and don't forget to keep that cat toy in his sight. He might start crying."