Seth didn't know how they'd gotten stuck babysitting two different people (both old enough to handle themselves) on the same rainy Sunday, but they had come to the conclusion that they hated babysitting.
If Seth had been tasked with watching Maya it would be easy and fun, Maya was the best. But no, Seth has been saddled with both Simon and Trina.
Fortunately, Booker and Morgan had promised to help, and Booker had the best idea for how to spend the afternoon.
"Is this Maya's first time going to an arcade?" Morgan asked. She was carrying the little girl, who seemed mesmerized by all the blinking lights. Maya and Morgan were a matching set, both wearing purple galaxy print shirts and bucket hats, though Maya's bucket hat had a blue alien on it and Morgan's was a plain dark gray.
"Huh, yeah, I guess it is her first time."
"We're going to have so much fun today," Morgan told the little girl, who squealed in delight.
"You sure you've got her?" Booker asked, trusting Morgan entirely but just wanting to make sure that Morgan felt confident about watching Maya on her own.
"Of course I do, I used to babysit all the time. Chill, doc."
"I'm chill. I'm gonna go try out the crane games, you guys have fun." With that, Booker headed off, a man on a mission.
"Yo, Vampyro, let's play air hockey."
Seth regretted ever letting their older brother know their (potential) supervillain name.
"Fine. Trina, you want to come with?"
"That's okay, dad gave me money so I'm gonna do my own thing."
"Be responsible," Seth warned, channeling every bit of authority they could muster. Seth had never been an older sibling before so it was both a little difficult and a little exhilarating.
"Sure, whatever." Trina wasn't used to having any siblings at all, but she had a soft spot for Seth.
"I'm gonna find something Maya will like," Morgan said, leaning over and kissing Seth on the cheek before going off with her buddy.
Trina played a few rounds of skeeball and one of those shooting games that satisfied her bloodlust and then wandered over to Booker, who had amassed quite a collection of plushies and didn't seem like he planned on stopping anytime soon.
"Don't you think you have enough, big guy?" Trina asked with a laugh.
"I'm trying to win the bat. For Seth."
"How much money have you spent on that machine?"
"Enough."
"Hm. Seems like a bit much. Does Seth even like stuffed animals?"
"1. Who doesn't like stuffed animals? And 2. It's about the thought, the gesture. I want to get them a little present so they know I was thinking about them."
"1. I don't like stuffed animals and 2. You know they have a girlfriend, right? Unless you're planning on, y'know, getting Morgan out of the picture because if so I am totally down."
"What? No, absolutely not. Aren't there rules in your family about not murdering people?"
"I never said it had to be murder."
"What's wrong with Morgan anyway?"
"I just don't know her very well. Seth's cool but Morgan seems like a lot. And Kei, er, mom, er whatever, she's already a lot. And I love her, y'know, 'cause she's my mom, but I don't think I can handle two people who are a lot all the time."
"That makes sense. But I think you should give Morgan a chance. She's pretty incredible, you know. Underneath her vibrant exterior is one of the kindest, most passionate people you'll ever meet. If she cares about you she'll stop the world to make sure you're okay."
"Oh, I get it now," Trina said. "You're in love with both of them."
"Is it that obvious?" Booker asked with a sheepish laugh, getting close to hooking the bat and then dragging a penguin into the prize chute instead. He added it to his pile and put another dollar in the machine.
"Yes. Lemme try."
Booker stood aside and watched Trina expertly maneuver the claw, winning the bat on her first try. She tossed it to Booker.
"Have you done that before?" He asked, impressed.
"No. I'm just in tune with machines. Oh uh, hey. I have a question for you."
"Okay, what's up?"
"Do you see me as human?"
"Yeah? Obviously?"
"But you know I'm an android, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"And you still see me as human, instead of just a weapon?"
"You're not a weapon, and you should've never been treated as such. You're pretty cool, Trina. You're just a little bit prickly." He held up a porcupine stuffed animal and then tossed it to her.
"Here. I had the feeling that you didn't like stuffed animals because you hadn't had one before."
"Thanks," Trina said, feeling both embarrassed and appreciative.
"You're uh, you're pretty cool too, Booker. Moth would be lucky to have you."
"Moth?"
"Apparently that's their ship name."
"Huh. Then I guess I know which stuffed animal I'm giving Morgan." He held up a cute moth plushie.
"That machine has the weirdest collection of animals ever," Trina said.
"Yeah, it's bizarre. You can have another if you want. I'm gonna give the rest to Maya, obviously."
Trina tentatively took the penguin, leaving Booker with a lion, an iguana, a hippo, and an owl. He stuffed his haul into his dad bag to keep them out of sight for the surprise.
"Do I have to name them?" Trina asked, hugging her prizes close.
"That's up to you. I always liked to mine after things from the place I got them. Like, when I was younger I had a stuffed bunny named Rocket because I got him at a planetarium." Booker wondered if Morgan would like going on a date to a planetarium. He filed that away for later, clutching the bat and moth and mentally rehearsing how he was going to tell his roommates he was interested in them.
"That's kinda goofy," Trina pointed out.
Booker laughed, "Yeah, but Rocket was my favorite for the longest time."
"I think I'll call the Porcupine Skeeball and the Penguin Claw."
"Good names," Booker complimented.
"You don't have to lie to me, I'm not a kid."
"I know. I generally don't lie to people. I think they're good names."
"...Thanks."
Seth and Simon were arguing over something as a vicious game of air hockey ensued. Booker was pretty sure he heard his name but the pair clammed up when they saw him and Trina.
"I'll let you two talk," Simon said with an aggravating smirk.
"I'm gonna see what I can buy with my tickets," Trina decided, also making herself scarce.
Then Booker and Seth were alone.
"Who won air hockey?" Booker asked.
"Simon," Seth said with a sigh, thinking about the terms of the friendly little bet. If Seth won, Simon had to stop asking them for favors. If Simon won, Seth had to tell Booker how they felt.
"Let's go find Morgan and Maya," Booker suggested.
"Good idea."
"I actually have something to tell both of you," Booker admitted.
"I have something to tell you too," Seth said, "but you can go first."
It didn't take long for them to locate Morgan and Maya, who were doing a space-themed racing game together. Maya seemed to love it.
Booker and Seth cheered the two on until the race was over and then Seth took Maya so Morgan could get up.
"Booker has something to tell us."
"I won you guys something," Booker said with a shy smile, pulling out the bat and the moth.
"Oh, I love it!" Morgan said instantly.
"We match," Seth chuckled, holding up the bat.
"Yeah, I saw it and I had to get it for you. That's um, that's not what I have to tell you though. What I wanted to tell you is that I think you're both the most outstanding people I've ever met. And I think… I think we could be really good together, I think we already are really good together, so I was wondering if you wanted to be a little bit more than roommates?" Booker had never initiated a polyamorous relationship before so he didn't quite know what he was doing but he was sure of how he felt.
Morgan and Seth exchanged a look.
Seth burst out laughing.
"Simon told me if I lost to him in air hockey I had to admit to you that I like you as more than friends."
"No way, I have a bet going on with Hiro about whether or not I'll confess," Morgan said, wheezing with laughter.
"You guys seem pretty chill about me confessing my feelings to you," Booker said, suddenly feeling pretty confused.
"Well, we're practically already dating, Doc. Morgan and I talked about it, and we figured we just had to make it official."
"We were gonna hold off a little because life's been a bi-" Morgan stopped herself when she remembered Maya was right there, "-a bit much lately, but we both really like you, Booker. We'd be happy to be more than just roommates with you."
Booker beamed.
"This went way better than I planned."
"It went way better than we planned too," Seth assured him.
"So we should celebrate, right?" Morgan asked.
"Right."
"We should tell Sadie," Seth said, and then their face screwed up as they remembered the reason they'd been saddled with Simon.
"Nevermind, let's not steal Sadie and the Suspects' thunder. We can tell people we started dating after their engagement bliss has worn off a little."
Booker laughed, "That's probably for the best. But that doesn't mean we can't still celebrate."
They grabbed Trina and Simon from the prize table and decided that the best way to end their day was with ice cream which, as Seth would realize later, was technically also their first date. So they were stuck babysitting the whole time, it didn't matter. The three of them were finally together, and nothing could bring down the mood.
Uhhh, that last line isn't foreshadowing of some big bad thing happening. The kiddos are just happy for once and they get to stay happy for the rest of the fic. No promises about the spin-offs though lmao.
Question of the Week- Out of all the stuffed animals mentioned in this chapter which one do you would want? It's either the bat or the penguin for me