Hello everyone! I am so sorry that it took me so long to update, but I kind of ran into writers block. This is pretty short, but I just thought of it as kind of a mini-prompt. Next one will be longer, I promise!
Chapter Eleven
It was known that children usually pick up some kind of habit from their guardians. Maybe a way of speaking, a hand gesture, or even a nervous tick. The point is, children are very impressionable creatures, and sometimes not all of the habits they pick up are good. Even the nicest and most polite kid will probably do something bad if he sees his parents doing the same thing.
Take Mikado for example. On one lovely Sunday evening, our favorite family in Ikebukuro was settling down in their home for the night. They were tired from doing so many things the previous day. They had taken Rufus to a dog park, where Mikado had made a new friend. Here name was Anri, and she was a very nice little girl who owned a giant St. Bernard named Aki. As the two dogs played, the two children played as well, though they were both shy at first, so it took a bit of nudging from their parents before they opened up to each other. By the time Shizuo and Izaya told Mikado that they had to leave, he had made a new best friend.
After they had left the park, they decided to go visit Shinra and Celty. They ended up staying over at their house for and after lunch. Celty absolutely adored Rufus, almost as much as she adored Mikado. Shinra thought it was a good idea to give Mikado a chemistry set to play with, which his parents immediately took with the promise that they would let the five-year-old play with it when he was old enough.
They had then made their final stop for the day, which had been Simon's shop. Simon had been overjoyed to see his friends and had immediately made them try the new spicy sushi that he had just made. Shizuo and Izaya tried it, mostly just to try to best the other, and their eyes were watering in seconds. Mikado was given a simple bowl of rice while he watched his parents chug down water like their lives depended on it. Simon, of course, had thought that it had been hilarious, and then had to pop in two pieces of the spicy sushi into his mouth without even breaking a sweat.
They had gotten home a little later than usual, and Mikado was dead tired. His parents hadn't even had an time to read him his usual bed time story before he was out like a light. Shizuo and Izaya had actually woken up before the little boy the next morning, and Mikado was usually up for at least half an hour before his parents were. He had been a zombie during breakfast, and Shizuo made sure to keep an eye on him, lest his little boy ended up with his face in his eggs.
Needless to say, Mikado was kind of crabby that day. He wouldn't talk to his parents, and mostly he just kept to himself, playing with his toys while a pout graced his face. Izaya was wondering if he would have to put Mikado down for a nap, when all of a sudden, he heard a cry of pain coming from Mikado. He looked up from the book he was reading and Shizuo looked away from the movie on the television. They got up from the couch and went over to Mikado, who looked like he was about to cry, not from pain, but just from general frustration of the whole world. It seemed that he had dropped the truck he had been playing with on his toe. Shizuo and Izaya were about to comfort him, either in the form of a group hug or kisses on the forehead, when their little five-year-old uttered a completely angry cry of, "Shit!"
There was a moment of complete silence while the family processed what had just happened. Mikado, their sweet, innocent, little boy who loved everything and everyone, had just said 'shit'. Now, in this situation, there are different ways to react.
Izaya, after a careful pause, started giggling. Shizuo, after a longer pause, decided that the most appropriate reaction was to blame Izaya.
"Flea! You're teaching our kid to swear?"
"What? Me? I don't even swear!"
"Daddies?" The tearful voice broke the two away from their mini-argument. Apparently, when he was not given a hug after he hurt himself, and when his parents started fighting instead of comforting him, he grew a little distressed. Shizuo and Izaya had to spend the next five minutes assuring him that no, they weren't mad at him, but he wasn't supposed to say words like that. They then decided that a nap was in order.
After Mikado was settled down in his bed with Mr. Dolphin to keep him company, Shizuo and Izaya returned to the living room. Izaya resumed reading his book and Shizuo started a new movie. And that was the end of that. Sort of.
"I still say it was you who taught him that."
"Shizu-chan, the only time I swear is when we are doing something that is not appropriate for Mikado to be around."
"..."
Shizuo didn't know how to respond to that, so he didn't.
