Chapter Ten: Boys' Day Out

Rita was late. Estelle sat at the table with her chin in her hands, trying not to be too upset. Rita was probably busy with work, that's all. It wasn't really a big deal, just lunch. Even though Rita was always busy during lunch. Even though she always ate lunch one-handed in her lab in order to keep working. Even though she had promised she would be home today.

She had been very clear when she left this morning. Estelle had been complaining for ages that Rita spent too much time at work, so Rita had given in and promised she'd come home for an entire hour at lunch today. Estelle had carefully prepared delicious Monte Cristo sandwiches, making sure they were just right and finished exactly at noon, when Rita was supposed to show up. Now it was almost 12:20, and they were getting cold.

She scooted her chair over to Oliver's highchair. "We might as well get you fed, Oliver." She sighed and picked up a spoon. "Looks like Mom isn't coming." She held a spoonful of mushed yams at his mouth. "Are you going to eat today?"

He turned his head away in protest.

Estelle frowned. "Come on, Oliver, you like yams. They're yummy." She put the spoon to her lips and ate a small amount. "Mmmm," she said, putting it back to his face. "Yummy-yummy. Om nom nom." She flapped her lips, trying to encourage Oliver to open his.

The door opened and Estelle looked up to see Rita walk in. Rita crossed the room and fell into her chair in exhaustion. "Whew. Sorry I'm a bit late. I just discovered that sodium does something really cool when you add chlorine gas to-"

"You're twenty minutes late, Rita," Estelle said. She put the spoon back in the bowl of yams. Oliver wasn't eating anyway. "Our lunch is cold."

Rita looked over at Estelle's plate. "You could have eaten. I wasn't stopping you. No reason for you to have a cold lunch."

"We were going to eat lunch together!" Estelle said. "I was waiting for you."

"Yeah, well that was your choice! I couldn't go in the middle of an experiment."

"You shouldn't have started an experiment when you knew you had somewhere to be. You promised, Rita."

Rita frowned and crossed her arms. She clearly felt guilty about hurting Estelle's feelings, but wasn't ready to admit complete fault just yet. "It was important. I'll make it tomorrow, ok?"

"You always say that, but things always come up," Estelle said. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms in a mirror of Rita. "You need to stop eating at work. You'll make yourself sick again."

"That was one time," Rita said. "It's not my fault someone didn't clean the table properly and I got some chemicals on my sandwich."

Estelle glared at Rita as angrily as she could. She didn't like fighting with Rita, but this was serious. Rita had thrown up for days after that incident, and Estelle was just glad it hadn't been worse. "Rita, I'm serious. You need to eat properly, and that means sitting down for a normal, safe lunch. I don't want you to get hurt."

Rita turned her head aside sulkily. "You shouldn't worry about me. I can take care of myself. You've got enough work taking care of Oliver all day."

Estelle's angry resolve softened. "Of course I worry about you, Rita. If anything were to happen to you, I don't know what I'd do."

"W-well, I don't want anything to happen to you either."

Estelle was about to say something when the front door slammed open and a man appeared in the doorway. Estelle shouted and twisted around in her chair in surprise. She instinctively threw her arm in front of Oliver, but then relaxed when she saw who the intruder was. She sighed. "What are you doing here, Raven?"

"What, aren't ya happy ta see me?" He closed the door and strode across the room.

"You can't just burst in like that!" Rita said, slamming her fist on the table. "At least knock!"

"And miss the possibility of walkin' in on some hot girl-on-girl action?"

Rita's frustration turned to anger, and she started charging up magic.

"Rita!" Estelle shouted. "No Fireballs in the house! We've talked about this."

Rita scowled, but let the magic fade away. She glared at Raven. "Just shut up, you old creep."

"How did you get in, Raven?" Estelle asked as Raven sat down at the table. "The guards don't let visitors just waltz in."

"Oh, you know, I just gave them the ol' 'atten-shun' routine. Gets them every time." He leaned back in the chair with his legs stretched out and his arms crossed. "I just happened ta be in town on guild business, and thought I'd drop by. So, how are ya two ladies doin'? Holdin' up alright?"

"We're fine," Estelle said with a smile. Her argument with Rita was pushed aside for now. "Although, somebody," she looked pointedly at Oliver, "won't eat his yams."

Raven leaned over the table and sniffed. "Aw, you're givin' the poor kid mushed yams? No wonder he's not eating. Ya know what he needs? A day out."

"Uh… what do you mean?" Estelle asked.

"I hardly ever get ta see the kid. Let me take him out. We'll go out for a walk, have a nice lunch… it'll be great!"

Estelle frowned. "I don't know…" It wasn't that she didn't entirely trust Raven to be responsible with her child, it was just that there were random people on the street she thought were more responsible.

"Aw, pleeeease?" Raven said. "It'll give ya ladies an afternoon alone together, and give me a chance to bond with the kid. You know Yuri and Judith are always goin' on and on about him whenever they get back from Zaphias, and the Old Man's getting' jealous!"

Rita glared at him suspiciously. Estelle knew what she meant. Gushing about Oliver didn't sound like something Yuri or Judith would do. She wondered if Raven had some kind of ulterior motive for wanting to take Oliver out.

"That's not a good idea," Rita said. "Remember what happened the last time one of our friends tried to take Oliver out? Yuri nearly spent the evening in jail."

"They'll let me," Raven said. "All the knights know me. Come on, don't ya girls want an afternoon ta your selves? I just want ta spend some time with the kid."

"Well…" Estelle glanced to Rita. It would be nice to have an afternoon off, and if Rita agreed to stay with her for the afternoon to make up for being late for lunch, they could have some much-missed alone time. "I'd feel more comfortable if Flynn went with you. We'd know for sure the knights won't interfere, and Flynn will take good care of Oliver."

"Ya don't trust me?" Raven said.

"No," Rita said. "And with good reason."

"Alright, alright," Raven said. "We can bring the ol' commandant. What do ya say? I can take him?"

"I guess it's alright," Estelle said.

Fifteen minutes later, Flynn stood in their apartment with his arms crossed. "I suppose I can go," he said. "I got most of the important work done this morning."

"Alright!" Raven said, throwing an arm around Flynn's shoulders. "We're gonna have a great time, huh?"

Flynn's smile was strained. "I'm sure."

Rita settled Oliver into his stroller. She kissed him on the forehead and said, "You have fun with Uncle Flynn and Raven, alright?"

"He shouldn't be any problem," Estelle said. "If he starts getting fussy, just come back."

"Ah, I'm sure we can handle him," Raven said. "Don't worry, ladies, your kid is in safe hands with ol' Raven." He took control of the stroller and steered it out into the hallway.

Estelle gave him a nervous look, and grabbed Flynn's arm as he was about to follow him out. "Flynn…"

He gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll look after him, Lady Estellise. Don't worry."

"Thanks, Flynn."

Flynn left to catch up with Raven and Oliver, leaving Rita and Estelle alone. "That was sure unexpected," Rita said, walking over to Estelle.

"Yes, but I think it will be nice for Oliver to go for a walk outside the castle. It's good for him to see more of the world."

"Yeah, and even if I don't trust Raven, Flynn will keep things under control."

"You're not going back to work now, are you?" Estelle said, looking to Rita. She saw a guilty look on Rita's face as her eyes darted to the door for a millisecond.

"Well…"

"Rita," Estelle said warningly.

Rita sighed. "I suppose not. We've got a rare chance when Oliver is out of the house, so I suppose I should make it up to you for being late." She wrapped her arms around Estelle's waist and rested her head on her shoulder. "I really am sorry for being late, you know."

"It's ok," Estelle said, wrapping her arm around her shoulder and resting her cheek on the side of Rita's head. "I know your work is really important to you. I'm so lucky to have such a genius partner."

"No, I'm lucky to have someone so understanding and such a good mom to Oliver."

"What should we do now that we have some free time?"

Rita pulled back a bit and glanced meaningfully at the door to the bedroom. "I have some ideas…"

The walked down the streets of the Royal Quarter. Raven was pushing an empty stroller, because just after they left the castle, Oliver got bored of sitting in his stroller and wanted to walk.

"I hope you're not pressed for time, Captain Schwa- I mean, Mister Raven." After all these years, Flynn still couldn't get used to calling Captain Schwann Raven. The instinct to salute and be respectful to all the knight captains had been too firmly drilled into him as a rookie.

"Not particularly," Raven said.

They stood next to a planter, waiting for Oliver to be done inspecting a flower. This was the third planter box they'd stopped at, and Oliver insisted on investigating every one. He certainly had already grasped the concept of stopping to smell the roses. They had been out for nearly half an hour now, and the steps of the castle were still visible down the street. Finished with the flower, Oliver turned and started walking down the street without waiting to make sure Raven and Flynn were following. Luckily, his steps were still slow and uncertain so it didn't take much to overcome him.

"Let's get outta the Royal Quarter," Raven said when they passed the stairs to the Public Quarter. "This place is boring."

"Alright," Flynn said. He knelt down and picked Oliver up before the boy could run off to investigate the next planter box. He wasn't sure if Oliver was able to handle walking down stairs yet, but out in public probably wasn't the best place to find out.

"Down!" Oliver said, squirming his arms.

"I'll put you down when we go downstairs," he said, walking down the steps. Raven carried the stroller, awkwardly wheeling it down the stairs.

Oliver flailed his arms and legs around, not pleased with being carried on his walk. He landed a pretty solid kick to Flynn's stomach, and Flynn regretted taking his armour off.

At the base of the stairs, Flynn put him back on the ground and he immediately made a beeline for a flower pot in front of someone's store. He grabbed at the flower as Flynn rushed over. "No, Oliver," he said, pulling him back. "Those flowers belong to someone. You can't pick them."

He took Oliver's hand and walked him back over to Raven and the stroller. "I have an idea," Raven said. "Estelle said he wasn't eating lunch, so why don't we take him out for lunch? I'm sure we can find him something at a restaurant!"

Flynn gave him a sceptical look. "I wouldn't think so. He's a pretty picky eater."

"Come on, we might as well try," Raven said. "Besides, I'm pretty hungry myself."

Flynn eyed his enthusiastic face, wondering why he was so determined about this. "Capt- Raven, do you have some ulterior motive for wanting to take him to a restaurant?"

"Only that there are pretty waitresses. And ya know, ladies just love a man with a baby!"

Flynn sighed. "Is that what this is about?" They started walking again, Flynn keeping hold of Oliver's hand to make she he didn't wander off. The streets of the Public Quarter were busier than those around the castle; he didn't want to lose him.

"I refuse ta believe you haven't done this yourself, Commandant," Raven said. He put on a big grin and said, "I'm jealous! Ya live so close ta Estelle and Rita, ya can borrow him anytime ya want and use him to help pick up chicks!"

"I really don't do that," Flynn said. Sometimes it was hard to believe that this rough, irresponsible, and wild man was the same Captain Schwann who had commanded so much respect across the knights.

"Yer missin' out on a golden opportunity, y'know," Raven said. "Kid's not gonna be small and cute forever."

"Do you honestly believe women are so easily manipulated? Having a baby under your arm isn't going to hypnotize women into your bed."

"Oh ye of little faith! Watch me. C'mere, Oliver." He crouched down and snatched Oliver up. To Flynn he said, "Watch and learn, Commandant."

Flynn crossed his arms and watched Raven cross the street to where a young woman was busy sweeping the front step of her shop. Raven walked up to her and put on an innocent smile, while Oliver looked around in confusion, wondering why he'd suddenly been picked up again.

"Excuse me, miss," Raven said in a voice so smoothly sweet it would be honey jealous. "We've just come ta visit the capital and I'm afraid little Oliver and I have gotten a bit lost. Do you think you could…" he leaned in slightly, "point the way to the nearest inn?"

The woman paused in her sweeping and looked at them with a smile. "Oh, of course! There's an inn a few blocks away."

"Thanks so much, sweetheart," Raven said.

"Wan' go down," Oliver said, squirming in Raven's arms.

"Sh," Raven said, tightening his grip.

"Aw, that's so sweet," the woman said. "What an adorable baby."

"Why thank you," Raven said with a huge smile.

"Is he your grandson?"

Raven's smile frozen in place. "Er… no."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed." She smiled innocently and said, "The inn down the street will be perfect for you. They provide cribs for babies and I think you can get a senior discount."

"Th-thank you…"

The woman returned to sweeping and Raven trudged back to Flynn, who was having trouble keeping a smile off his face. "That seemed to work out for you," he said.

Raven put Oliver back down on the ground and Flynn grabbed his hand. "I swear that worked better when I was younger."

"Perhaps that will teach you that Oliver isn't here as a tool for getting dates."

"I'm sure it'd work for you, oh fancy commandant," he said.

"No," Flynn said. They passed a bakery but had to stop so Oliver could admire the colourful cakes. "I'm not doing that."

"Oh, I see, it's because yer already so smooth with the ladies ya don't need the extra help."

"Uh… not quite." Flynn had never quite mastered the art of talking to girls. When they were teenagers, Yuri had taken to shoving him in front of cute girls and forcing him to talk, but it inevitably ended in stammers and blushing and running away. He'd take difficult negotiations with angry enemy leaders over a conversation with a pretty girl any day.

"Oh-ho, I see!" Raven nudged Flynn with his elbow. "Ya don't need to try 'cause you've already got yerself a piece of skirt, eh?"

"That's not it, either!" He tugged Oliver's hand, encouraging him to move alone.

"No? Well, why not?"

"What do you mean, why not?" They turned a corner. Flynn was planning to loop the block and then head back toward the castle, because Oliver already seemed to be getting tired and he did still have some work to do today.

"Look at ya! Young, handsome, rich, powerful - the ladies must be all over ya!"

Flynn flushed a bit. "I don't have time to pursue a relationship. My work is far too time-consuming."

"Don't give me that," Raven said. "Ya should stop spendin' so much time at work. Live a little! There must be some girl ya can get. What about that Sodia chick? Is she still hangin' around all the time?"

"My relationship with Sodia is purely professional," Flynn said quickly.

"So she is! I tell ya, I'd grab that while ya can. If she's anything like she was when we first met, she's gaga over you."

"What are you talking about?" Flynn said, looking at him in alarm.

"I'm talking about," he clasped his hands over his chest and changed his voice to a falsetto, "Oh, Captain Flynn, ohhhh!"

Flynn's blush deepened. "You're deliberately misinterpreting this. Sodia and I are co-workers, nothing more."

"If ya say so. All I'm sayin' is that if yer lookin' ta get some, she's right there."

"Stop," Flynn said. "Think about what kind of example you're setting for Oliver."

"With his moms, I don't think we have ta worry about him growin' up not respectin' ladies."

Oliver stumbled a bit and nearly fell. He whined a bit and tugged on Flynn's hand. "Tired."

"Do you want to ride in the stroller now?"

He nodded, so Flynn picked him up and put him back in. "Why don't we head back to the castle? It's probably almost time for his nap."

"Yeah, might as well," Raven said. "Doesn't seem like he's gonna help me score with the ladies after all."

They rounded the next corner, and Flynn said, "I meant to ask, how are Yuri and Judith doing?"

"Oh, they're doin' great," Raven said. "You gotta come visit and see Judith – wowza!"

"Er…"

"Ya know how ladies' breasts get bigger when they're pregnant? Ohhh man, she is a gift to mankind."

Flynn rolled his eyes. "I meant how are they holding up, have they got things in order, that sort of thing."

"Oh, ya mean the borin' stuff. Yeah, Yuri's been busy cleanin' out the storage room to make space for the kid, and they argued for a bit over what colour to paint it."

"You mean, pink or blue?" Flynn asked.

"No, I mean Yuri wanted to paint it bright red because he thought it would be cool and Judith wanted to paint it blue because that's her favourite colour. Eventually they compromised and used both."

"You mean they alternated walls between blue and red?' He tried to picture a baby's nursery with walls of alternating bright red and blue, and his head hurt just picturing it.

"No, they took both colours and poured them into a bucket and used both."

Flynn knew enough about basic colour theory to understand where this was going. "So… they ended up with purple walls?"

"That's right. Kind of an uneven purple, too."

Flynn couldn't help but laugh a bit at that. Yuri would do that. "I guess they'd better hope for a girl now."

"I don't think either of them really care about that. Also, Judith is officially sittin' out any guild mission that involves action. She's pretty bored, I think."

"That's good to hear," Flynn said, nodding. Honestly, he wouldn't put it past Judith to unthinkingly rush into battle while pregnant.

"The head of the carpenter guild built them a crib as thanks for helpin' out at Aurnion a few months ago, which I'm sure you'll be happy to hear."

Flynn glanced over at him. "Me? Why?"

"I heard ya got into a bit of trouble the last time ya tried to build a crib."

Flynn scowled. "Yuri told you about that, did he?"

"I got the story, yeah."

"I'm sure he left out the part where it was his fault."

Raven laughed a bit. "From what I understand, all four of ya contributed to the mess."

They rounded another corner, bringing them back to the road they'd started on. Oliver was falling asleep in his stroller, so they aimed for the castle to deliver him to his moms. Maybe when he woke up, he would be able to be convinced to try some yams.

Estelle seemed to have two moods whenever Rita came home from working; either clingy due to loneliness and boredom, or annoyed that she was late. Today, about five months after Oliver's outing with Raven, she walked through the door and saw nobody, not even Oliver, who was usually on the floor with some toy or another. Lately Estelle had been reading him storybooks in all of her free time, now that she read he should be learning words.

"Hey Estelle, you here?" There wasn't any point worrying if she was just out of sight, there were other rooms in the suite.

"We're in the study!" She sounded happy about something, but it was rare for her to be in there.

"What are you doing in here?" Rita turned the corner into it to see what she was doing that was so important she was in here. Estelle was never in the study, they only ever used it for her own work-related notes.

"Look what we did!" She held up a stack of papers, the first of which was mostly scribbles from the short distance. There were crayons all over the floor and desk, and she noticed Oliver in the middle of room with a messy pad of paper, surrounded by them.

"Oliver learned how to draw? That's impressive." The figure on the paper Estelle was holding looked like two people, but she couldn't tell what was between them. A box or a table, perhaps. "His motor skills shouldn't be this well-developed yet."

Estelle looked like her heart had shattered and fallen through the floor. "Rita…I drew that." Rita looked between the random lines on Oliver's paper, and the almost-random lines on Estelle's paper. It was an honest mistake, surely anybody Estelle's age would stop drawing the sun with spiky rays, or the grass flat on the bottom of the page

"I was looking at Oliver drawing over there. He's growing up fast, huh?" She tried to diffuse the situation before Estelle got too upset about it.

"I suppose…." She didn't sound like she believed it.

"What did you draw, anyways?" A change of topic.

"I was making a story book. For Oliver." She pointed at the paper as she addressed each thing. "This is a baby, and these are his moms. All of the children's books have a mom and a dad, and I didn't want him to feel left out."

That answer was so undeniably Estelle she couldn't help but smile. It didn't seem like a big deal, but she thought of everything. "What's it about?" She took the stack of pages and flipped through, seeing nothing but different versions of the same cover.

"I haven't decided yet, but I want to do this for him." She reached out and took the pages back, as if embarrassed to have them seen. "I can't take it to a publisher, so I have to draw it myself, but…."

"I don't think he'll care either way." Oliver looked more interested in smashing the crayon into the carpet.

"But I want it to look professional," Estelle insisted. "Like a real storybook."

"You just need practice." She knelt down across from Oliver to look at what he was drawing. Literal scribbles, he was only pressing down on the page and moving the crayon with his whole body. He looked up and smiled when he saw her next to him.

"Hi." He dropped his crayon to walk across his paper and throw his arms around her neck. "Dart."

Estelle looked over to them while she was putting her paper in order. "No, Oliver, it's draw. Draaaaw."

"Dart." He pointed at the paper, convinced that he was imitating her.

"Have you fed him yet?" He was easily distracted and rarely asked to be fed, when occupied.

"I tried." Estelle shook her head, slumping over the back of the chair. "He just won't eat anything, can you try? He's more responsive to you." It must have been serious if she directly said that; Estelle could be a little jealous of the attention he wasn't giving her.

Rita looked at Oliver, asking, "You hungry?"

"Yes." He held his hands over his stomach, having learned Estelle's wild hand motions as much as the words themselves.

"He has a plate of chicken and rice on the kitchen counter," Estelle offered.

"No rice!" Oliver shook his head and latched back onto Rita as if his dinner was going to eat him.

"Yes rice." She situated to pick him up and carry him into his high chair. He struggled the whole way, mouth clamped shut.

"I'm getting really worried about him." Estelle watched him expectantly as Rita held a forkful of rice up to his face.

"No!" He glared at her stubbornly, hand over his mouth.

"What about the chicken?" She tore a piece off and held it up, but he only shook his head and protested through his hand.

"He hasn't eaten in almost two days." Estelle fiddled with her clothing nervously. "It can't be healthy, he's just going to get sick."

"Why didn't you tell me he wasn't eating? Just give me five minutes and I can have him fed." She should have been mad at Estelle for keep quiet about it, but she was too worried for Oliver if he was starving himself.

"No, don't force him, you might hurt him."

"This is any better?"

Estelle paused, settling an internal debate. "I have one more idea. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

"Where are you going?" She turned back to hold Oliver up, who had tried to squirm out through the bottom of his chair.

"Just try and get him to eat, I won't be long." She left before Rita could ask any more questions.

"Honestly…. Okay, we're going to surprise her with an empty plate when she comes back." Oliver shook his head. "What do you want?"

"Not want."

"Yes want." She stared him down.

"Not want." This was getting ridiculous. She had debated theories with nearly every mage in the world, and here she was losing an argument with a toddler.

"I can make you carrots instead."

"No carrots."

"I think we have potatoes."

"No 'datoes."

"I could make you a sandwich."

"No." He hadn't even heard of sandwiches to her knowledge, and was just being stubborn for the sake of it.

"Dammit just eat your chicken." They were only frustrating each other the more time they spent on this topic, which only agitated Rita further because she was letting a two-year-old get to her.

"No!" He kicked and threatened to throw a fit if she didn't let him free.

"I'll find something different, alright? How about that, something I don't have to cook so

it'll taste good no matter what." Although she knew the problem wasn't her cooking, he was just being annoying because Estelle let him get away with it.

"Want down." He had quieted down at least, curious about the words that he didn't understand. Rita picked up an overripe peach and a small knife from the kitchen, cutting a small slice out of it. They hadn't tried him on most fruit yet, since it was too solid, but now was a good a time as any. She put the piece into her mouth, showing him that it probably tasted much better than cold chicken.

Oliver watched the fruit with wide eyes, fascinated by the bright color of the unfamiliar food. He took the small piece he was offered and ate it without complaint.

Rita handed him another piece, relieved that he was finally accepting something, but he pushed her hand away. "Come on, eat it, you liked it."

"No." He turned his head away from her.

"Stop being so stubborn about it." This was worrying, because he was refusing food for the sake of a game

"No!" She was considering just holding him down to feed him forcefully when Estelle came back. Flynn walked in behind her.

"Your plan is Flynn?"

Estelle grabbed his wrist and practically dragged him into the kitchen; he looked upset about something, perhaps she interrupted his work.

"I would appreciate if you dropped all comments about my cooking, Miss Mordio." He stood in the middle of the kitchen, arms crossed. "Lady Estellise already explained everything."

Estelle stood next to him with a guilty expression. "I was just worried about Oliver. He didn't fight when you fed him…." It sounded like Estelle had already explained to Flynn that his cooking tasted like the street.

"I understand." Flynn hardly sounded understanding, but he stuck his head around to speak to Oliver. "What do you want to eat?"

"Shut up." Estelle dropped the pot she pulled out for Flynn to use, and he only stared at Oliver, dumbstruck. Rita threw her hand over her mouth, far more amused than the other two.

"What did I tell you about talking like that in front of him?" Estelle left the kitchen to stand in front of Oliver.

"He'll learn eventually, I don't see the big deal." She shrugged, taking a chair next to him to let Estelle through.

"We'll talk later." She sounded irritated, but turned to Oliver. "You can't speak like that, okay? That's not nice, tell Uncle Flynn you're sorry."

Oliver grinned widely, having found a new button to push for instant fun. "Shut up."

Estelle stared at him, not even sure of how to react. "Rita, this is your fault, you handle it." She redirected her frustration.

"I don't see the problem. Worry more about him eating." It was a cheap shot, Estelle cared about Oliver and his stubbornness could prove life threatening. But it was just a couple words and she was putting more concern into that than his eating habits.

"I suppose…." She slumped over and tried one last time to get him to eat a spoonful of the rice. "Flynn, please tell me you're cooking in there."

"Of course, Lady Estellise. Is there anything he particularly dislikes?" He poured a cup of uncooked oatmeal into the pot.

"Everything, as far as we can tell," Estelle told him. Rita was starting to question Estelle's judgment in letting Flynn in their kitchen; forcing him would just be so much easier.

"I'll go as quickly as I can, then." He looked through their pantry, taking out a potato and a handful of grapes to mix into the same pot. "This shouldn't take long, and it'll be good for him.

"I can't say I've ever made proper baby food before, it's usually everything on a plate mashed together, right?"

Estelle gave Flynn a worried glance before looking back to Rita. Definitely a worse option than force-feeding him. She wasn't sure what Flynn was doing in there, but she'd worked with chemicals that smelled less lethal. It was a last resort for a reason, but this couldn't be healthy.

He left the kitchen with a plate of mush speckled with various bright colors. She wasn't sure what was in it, and was almost afraid to ask, but Oliver stared at it as he walked up to him. "I've heard babies are responsive to bright colors, so I thought this might make it look better."

"Doesn't matter, just make him eat it," Rita said, a hand over her nose.

Flynn shot her an irritated look, but held a spoonful up to Oliver. "Hey buddy, you want to eat?"

"Shut up." He grinned and shook his head, but stared intently at the plate. Estelle looked like she had something to say, but kept herself quiet.

"Don't talk like that, you'll upset your mothers." Flynn held the spoon closer to his face and took a small bite off the spoon. Rita nearly gagged watching him actually put it in his mouth.

"You want to try some, too?"

Oliver considered for barely a moment before opening his mouth wordlessly. He took the bite and swallowed it quickly, mouth open expectantly the instant it was swallowed. "It looks like someone is hungry," Flynn smiled.

"Hungry." He tried to take the spoon from Flynn, trying to get him to feed him faster.

"Flynn thank you!" Estelle just about tackled him to the ground as she hugged him. "Thanks so much for your help!"

"Ah, no problem, Lady Estellise." He awkwardly leaned around her to put the spoon back in Oliver's mouth. "You should have asked for help sooner."

"Could you tell us what it is, so we could make it again?" Estelle asked him.

"Of course. Everything is boiled together so it's easy to cook and finishes quickly. I started with oatmeal, but that's a boring color, so I added potatoes so that everything would mix with it. There are some grapes, I sliced a beet thinly, added a little bit of red onion, and took it off when everything was soft." He looked proud as he fed Oliver another bite.

"And you just fed that to our son?" Rita looked skeptically at the plate, half of its contents already gone and inside his stomach.

"If you have a problem with it, you can cook for him yourself next time," Flynn said bitterly. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with this."

"No it's fine," Estelle cut in. "We really appreciate you coming down here."

"It's no problem. I don't mind coming down here to see him when I'm not working."

Flynn's undeniable soft spot for Oliver kept his spirits up.

"I'm sure he'd love that," Estelle said.

"Don't know what's wrong with him," Rita shrugged. "But yeah, thanks Flynn. I was expecting to have to fight with him more."

"You just have to make what he likes." Flynn smiled as he gave him the last spoonful.

"There you go, all done?"

"Want more." Oliver held his hand over his stomach and reached for the spoon.

"That's quite the appetite you have." He put the bowl back on the table behind him and turned to Estelle. "If you'd like, I could make him something else and show you how."

"That would be a great help." She stood and walked into the kitchen with him. "There's already some chicken pulled out, if you could use that?"

Rita took Oliver out of his chair and put him onto the floor while they cooked. "Let's get out of here and leave them alone." In truth, she didn't want to be anywhere near the kitchen while Flynn was in there, and took the time to pity Estelle for being in the center of that chaos.

"Carrots?" At least he was showing interest in food again. "You should finish that peach." If it really had been a few days like Estelle said, sharing some fruit shouldn't spoil his appetite.

"Peach?" He followed her into the living room and pulled himself up onto the couch. She cut him a small piece again, which he took and ate happily. Flynn's cooking thankfully broke his stubborn streak.

"Here you go, how's that?" He held out his hand for another. "Why couldn't you eat like this earlier?" Oliver only stared at her as he chewed, having trouble grinning at the same time. She took a piece for herself before giving him another. "You'd better keep this up when Flynn leaves."

There was a knock at the door and then Yuri let himself in. Before he could announce that he was there, he threw a hand up to pinch his nose shut. "What smells like Flynn's cooking?"

"That would be my cooking, Yuri," Flynn said from the kitchen. He glared at him over his shoulder.

"I'd know that smell anywhere, damn." Oliver had crawled down off the couch to latch onto Yuri's leg and chatter at him. He leaned down to ruffle his hair.

"What are you doing here?" Rita asked. "I didn't know you were in Zaphias. And hey, it's rude to just let yourself in, you know!"

Yuri ignored her last comment and said, "Just passing through on my way back to Dahngrest, figured I'd stop by."

"Is Judith here, too?" Estelle asked.

"Nah, I was fighting some monsters south of here with some other Brave Vesperia guildsmen. Judy stayed at home with Repede, since she can't fight anyway. More importantly, why is Flynn cooking? You guys have a death wish or something?"

"Flynn's cooking for Oliver," Estelle explained.

"You're gonna make the kid eat that?"

"Already has," Flynn smirked. "No complaints; he actually appreciates it."

"He wouldn't eat anything," Estelle said. "He really likes Flynn's cooking."

"What?" Yuri looked up from Oliver, shocked. "No way anybody actually ate that. He's just not being given anything he wants."

"We've tried him on everything, Yuri," Estelle said. "He won't eat when we or any of the kitchen staff cook for him anymore."

"Of course he won't, it's all too fancy for the kid." Yuri strode into the kitchen past Flynn and took an empty pan off the counter.

"Yuri this isn't necessary." Flynn tried to elbow him out of the way.

"How about both of you cook, and see what he likes best," Rita suggested, leaving the couch to hold Oliver back. Everybody was congregated in the kitchen, and he had tried to follow them.

"Do we really need to do that?" Estelle asked, standing far behind the two before she was caught in the crossfire.

"Can it hurt?" She trusted Yuri more anyways, and if there was a chance Flynn wouldn't have to be in the kitchen regularly, she would take it. The situation couldn't get any worse than Flynn teaching Estelle to cook. "If we don't let them settle it here, they'll find somewhere else to do it."

"I guess there is no stopping them." Yuri had already forced his way around Flynn and took up half the stove. "I'm going to work on that storybook, can you help?"

"I can sit with you, that's more your thing." She picked up Oliver as he tried to run past them into the kitchen.

"But you draw so much better, can you at least show me?" Estelle begged. She looked at her with wide eyes almost tearing up as she tilted her head slightly to the side.

It felt ridiculous being given doe eyes when she had to look up to see them, but she couldn't just say no. "I can give you some advice and that's it."

"Great, I'll get his crayons!" Giving in to a sad face would be less embarrassing if she wouldn't immediately become perky afterwards. Not that supervising Flynn and Yuri was an appealing option.

"You want to go draw more?" She sat Oliver on the floor while Estelle ran to the study.

"Paper?" He looked at her, eyebrows pushed together in confusion.

"That's right, you draw on paper. Who knew conversations with a toddler could be so enlightening?" He only looked at her blankly, smiling when he decided he didn't have anything to say.

Estelle came back, leaving a colorful notepad and a handful of crayons on the floor in front of him. "I brought a pencil, would that work better?"

"Better than crayons." Rita moved to the couch and laid out a blank sheet of paper. "I won't be much help, I only draw diagrams."

Estelle must have ignored that she didn't know what she was doing and put the tip of the pencil to the surface of the paper. "How do I start?"

"I don't know, you just make shapes until it's done." She shrugged, gesturing towards the paper. "Hold the pencil lightly and just do it."

"Like this?" She loosened her tight grip on the pencil, but still seemed determined to draw the entirely body perfectly in one line.

"No, more like this." She leaned in and grabbed the pencil, closing her hand around the back of Estelle's to guide it. "You have to let the pencil leave the page."

"I don't really get it." Even though her hand was moving across the page, it was just being led. "You're good at this, you should do it."

"I don't have time to draw children's books, this was your choice." She wasn't opposed to spending time or effort on Oliver, but it was a book, something he had countless of already. There were more important things to work on than colorful, toddler-friendly pictures.

"But he'll love it," she argued, dropping the pencil. "It's something from both of us that he'll grow up with." She leaned her head on Rita's shoulder to look up at her.

"He's growing up with us already." Estelle was getting dangerous; she knew there was no time for it, but she didn't want to say no.

"Hah, finished first!" Yuri rushed out of the kitchen with a plate in hand, effectively breaking attention from Estelle's practiced puppy dog eyes.

"It's not a race, Yuri, I'm still putting it on the plate." Flynn was still in the kitchen, noisily moving pans around.

"Doesn't matter, he tries mine first. You hungry, Oliver?" He put the plate on his high chair table, cutting the chicken open to let it cool off.

"Yeah." Oliver stood to walk himself to Yuri, who lifted him into his high chair.

"What do you think, Oliver?" Estelle asked as Yuri offered him a piece of chicken. He took it, but made a confused face as he swallowed.

"It's good, right?" Yuri asked, holding up another piece.

"No." He pushed his hand away.

"Huh." Yuri tasted the chicken for himself. "Tastes great, he's probably just full."

"What's in it? Maybe he doesn't like one of the ingredients," Rita suggested.

"Tomato, garlic, mushrooms. Basic stuff." There wasn't anything Oliver hadn't eaten before.

"Let's see, then." Flynn left the kitchen, his plate arranged almost too intricately for someone Oliver's age. It was a beautiful purple color, but that wasn't a color that chicken should ever be. "My dish also contains garlic and mushrooms."

"What else is in that?" Yuri stood between Flynn and Oliver as he stared at the plate.

"It's a sauce made with blackberries and cucumber."

"How creative," Estelle said. It was the best compliment anyone in the room could honestly give.

"Let's see how Oliver likes it." He pushed Yuri's plate of legitimate food out of the way to let him try.

Oliver took it reluctantly, hesitant after eating Yuri's. His eyes opened wider and he tried to take the fork to feed himself. Flynn turned to smirk at Yuri, standing up straighter as he officially claimed victory.

"There's something wrong with your kid," Yuri said.

"Just accept that you lost, Yuri." Flynn cut it into small pieces so that Oliver could pick it up without waiting for Flynn to hand it to him. "I'd be happy to explain the process, or even visit to cook for him when I'm available."

Rita groaned behind her hand, wishing that Yuri could have coerced him into eating like a normal human. It was a peaceful resolution that was definitely not preferred. As long as Oliver was going to pick up more healthy eating habits, if Flynn's food could even be called that. Perhaps "healthy" didn't have to be synonymous with "edible."

"So," Flynn turned to Yuri, "why are you really here?"

"I told you, I'm just passing through."

"I doubt you came all the way here to challenge me to a cooking contest. Which you just lost."

Yuri sighed. "I need some help. Judy's due in a just a few weeks."

"Oh, that's right!" Estelle cut in, worried that something might have happened if he came to them with a problem. "Is everything going all right?"

"Yeah, perfectly healthy, it's nothing like that." He took a seat at the table to eat the chicken Oliver refused before it got cold. "But I need a name. We agreed that she'd name it if it's a girl, and I have to pick the boy name. She's picked her name already, but I have no idea. Could you guys help me think of a name?"

"It's your child, Yuri," Flynn said, leaving Oliver to his own devices. "This is your responsibility."

"It's just the name, but he'll have it for his whole life." Yuri glared at him. "I just want some advice."

"Have you tried asking Karol?" Rita hadn't gotten tired of hearing just what he came up with.

Yuri chuckled a bit. "Do you remember the terrible name suggestions he used to come up with?"

"Yes," Rita said, grinning.

"He hasn't gotten better."

"Imagine growing up as Ultra-Sobbing Super Baby," Rita said sarcastically.

"Actually," Yuri said, "he suggested 'Tiger Festival'."

"That is not a name," Rita said.

"Yeah. That's why I'm here asking you guys instead."

"Did you ask Raven?" Estelle asked. "What did he suggest?"

"'Raven Lowell'."

Rita pressed her palm into her forehead while Flynn sighed. Estelle did her best to not agree that Raven's name was terrible. "That sounds like him."

"So I need some actual help. What do people name kids?"

Estelle didn't wait at all to throw suggestions at him. "Oliver's name came from a book, there are so many great characters. Holden was a young boy dissatisfied with the world around him, and it shows everything through his eyes. Ebenezer was an old man who didn't appreciate the little things in life, and he has to learn to appreciate others. Aslan was the king of a fantasy world, but in a different story, Aslan was a general who fell in love with the general of an opposing army before he was killed."

Yuri obviously had no intention of using any of those names, but he nodded as if thinking it over. "I'll bring it up with Judy. What about you, Flynn?"

Flynn paused thoughtfully before deciding to help Yuri. "I'm familiar with the story of Aslan and Josette, and I agree with Lady Estellise that it would be a good name. He was a strong commander and an excellent strategist, but a fair man." Estelle smiled at him, proud that someone liked her ideas.

"I kinda like the sound of Josette, but that's Judy's territory. What about you, Rita?" That was probably his last resort.

"Don't look at me, I didn't name Oliver." She waved him off.

"What would you do if you had another kid and had to name it right now?" He tried to get an answer out of her.

"Wonder where it came from and ask Estelle to name it." She shrugged. "Ask Judith if you really aren't sure, it's her kid, too."

"I told Judy I would pick the name if it was a boy, that's my responsibility," he told her.

"Then stop acting like it's our responsibility, too, Yuri." Flynn rolled his eyes.

"I just don't want to disappoint her," he said. "I've just never done anything like this before. Repede already came with a name."

"Just pick a name that you like," Estelle said. "It can be anything."

"That's what makes it so difficult." Yuri leaned back and kicked his legs up on an open chair. "There's so many wrong choices."

"You made the decision to get rid of all blastia in the world," Flynn told him, "and you can't just pick a name?"

"That was to prevent the world's destruction, it was an easy choice. But this is a child, he's going to have to live with this forever."

"We won't ever have blastia either, you know," Rita reminded him. Years were spent settling riots and stopping attempts at recreating blastia.

"This isn't a yes or no decision." Yuri leaned over the table. "I don't know how to do this."

"Maybe if you got some practice at being a dad, it'll make your decision easier. Oliver might be hungry again." Flynn nudged him with his elbow.

Yuri grinned. "He'll definitely eat this time."