Ging3: You home?

Pariston looked at his phone with a smile.

Me: That depends! I have a very busy schedule~

Ging3: ill be there in 20

A satisfied hum came from his lips as he sipped the rest of his afternoon espresso. A boring weekend could still turn into a satisfying playtime, a game both of them had played countless times before, yet never got boring.

He looked into a mirror, fixed his hair, wondered if he should change his outfit; After much deliberation, he opted for khaki pants, a pink dress shirt, and a black tie with a pink dot pattern. Formal, but relaxed enough for a day spent at home, giving the impression that of course he was not going to expect anything from this meeting, unless, of course-

After exactly 20 minutes, the doorbell to Paristons vacation home rang. Ging never knew how to be fashionably late- either he was on time down to the seconds, or he was simply late.

Pariston made his way to the door, considered carefully what act he wanted to put up today. He swung the door open, big smile, open arms. "Hello, ba-"

He stared directly into the squishy, giggly face of a child being helped up.

"Baby?"

Ging pulled the child back closer to his chest again, grinning and seemingly satisfied with having caught him off guard. Right, the child that Ging had shown up with after having disappeared for almost an entire year, without any explanations or apologies. "Hey, Paris." The man squeezed past him into the home. He carried not just the child, but a large, green bag with cartoon frogs on it.

"If I knew this was supposed to be a play date, I would have bought a child of my own."

"I don't want to know how or where you would suddenly conjure up a baby from." He dropped the bag with the sound of jingling bells and rustling plastic. "I woke up today and realized, you have not held my son yet, let's change that."

Pariston was smiling again, though he took a step back. "I misplaced my baby-holding suit."

"He's probably not going to puke, it's fine."

"Are you not afraid I will drop your only child? It would be such an unfortunate accident."

"Are you afraid you will drop him?"

The blonds back bumped against the wall. No escape.
Ging, gentler than Pariston had ever seen him before, laid the small child into his arms, re-arranged his hands here and there to secure the tiny, warm body. Gon. A full head of thick, black hair. Large, brown eyes with tiny golden speckles. Smiling and reaching towards the mans face.

"He likes you, what a pain." Ging had stepped back, looked at the two of them with a smile.

"How old is he now?"

"10 months. For his birthday we'll be back on whale island."

"What's an appropriate birthday present for a 1-year-old?" Something in him wanted badly to reach for the tiny, oh so tiny hand, but he also didn't dare to move. "A horse? First car? Louboutin's?"

"I'll probably wrap up all the toys he already has, and watch him play with the wrapping paper." The shorter man came closer again, brushed a hand over the messy hair of the boy. "By the way, you have to baby sit him for me today. I've got a meeting to plan my next expedition coming up, and can't take him with me."

"Huh?"

A quick kiss was placed on his cheek. "It'll only be a couple of hours. Formula, Diapers, Sleeping mat, and toys are in the bag. Thanks, Paris."

And he couldn't object or stop him because he was holding a baby. This must have been the plan all along.

The entrance door closed behind the other man.

Pariston Hill stood in his living room.

Holding a baby.

With careful steps he manoeuvred himself to the leather couch, sat down into the firm cushions. From this position he finally felt comfortable enough to carefully remove one arm, the other still cradling Gon, who was still trying to reach towards something, anything.

Pariston cautiously bought his index finger closer to the grasping hands. And he got caught. Strong, tiny, soft, strong hands wrapped around the finger and pulled. It truly was amazing how human children can-Ow.

Ow Ow Ow.

Gon was pulling harder on his finger, delighted by the 'funny' reactions he could pull from his newly appointed babysitter. Were all babies this strong?

The man finally got to pull his hand away, and tutted. "It's not good manners to twist my fingers off on our first meeting. Though your father was the same."

He looked at the big brown eyes and reminded himself not to expect an answer. Babies couldn't speak at 10 months. Right?

"Can you say Pariston?" A big, charming smile came to his lips.

Nothing.

"Pa-ri-ston?"

Silence. Gon had stopped giggling by this point and just stared back.

"Now, I usually don't allow anyone but your father to say this, but… Can you say Paris? Pa-ris?"

The child opens his mouth. Full of expectation, he brings his face closer. Possible first words, not Ging but to him.

Slap.

A tiny hand slapped against his cheek, and the giggles picked up again.

"Fine. Not yet, then….Let's see what your dad packed for toys."

In the end, he had spent 2 hours rummaging through the baby bag. Rattles. Singing toys. Chew rings. A plush boar that was so disgustingly adorable that Pariston wanted to keep it for himself. And when Gon started to blubber restlessly, he looked up a tutorial on how to properly warm up formula without accidentally poisoning a baby.

He had never put down Gon for just a second. A part of him was afraid that he'd forget how to pick him up again, break him even though supposedly children don't break easily. But another part of him just enjoyed holding Gon. Nothing you could call paternal- but appreciation for something that would become a fully fledged human in a matter of years.

Gon had finished the entire bottle of formula before Pariston remembered that he read that children don't need to drink the entire bottle and have a set limit of how much to drink. Oh, well, maybe he'll grow stronger.

Burping a baby was not as hard or as messy as he had been led to believe- or Gon was just an exceptionally well mannered baby when he wasn't trying to dismember you.

The sun started to set; warm orange light filled the spacious living room. Gon let out a big yawn, eyes slowly blinking close.

It took another hour until Ging entered the home with a spare key from a fake stone outside, a bag of fast food in hand. "Pa-"
Pariston was still on the couch, holding Gon as if it were the most natural thing in the world, both peacefully asleep.
He gave the blond a soft kiss on his forehead. "I got you dinner."

Pariston turned his head with a smile. "Your son is a menace. I haven't felt a single moment of peace since you left. A wild animal."

"I'm so proud."

"Where's the dinner compensation?"

"Here, let me take him so you can eat- The emptier case of fries is yours." Ging bend down and wrapped his arms around his son, picked him up with gentle ease, though he still woke up form the movement.
The baby turned his head back towards Pariston, a small hand reaching out.

"Pa-pa…"

Ging froze.

Paristons mouth fell open. Shock. Then delight. Pure, sadistic delight. "Did you hear that? Ging? Ging! Did you hear that?"

"I- No, no, that didn't happen, it doesn't count-"

"Were those his first words?!" Pariston laughed while snatching the bag of food. But his eyes were locked onto the steady blush that worked itself on Gings face.