Summary: Hilary wakes to find Tyson watching over their son and Hilary realises that while Tyson and Kai might not be rivals in beyblade anymore, they've found something new to compete over.

Parenting

Hilary woke with a start and, for a moment, lay in the tranquil dark wondering why she was awake. The clock on the bedside cabinet beamed red on the ceiling, 03:09. Her brow puckered. Far too early to be awake. She groaned and rolled over, then froze. Where was Tyson?

She sat up and looked around the room, lit up by the milky light of the moon that chased the shadows to the walls, keeping them pressed there, dark and solid. Nothing moved, the room remained the same as when she fell asleep. Tyson's clothes were in a pile in the corner where he'd thrown them after changing for bed — he'd been snoring softly when she'd arrived.

Throwing off her covers, she grabbed for her robe and slipped it on, her bare feet making hardly a sound on the cool wooden floor. The dojo creaked and groaned as it settled, and the air was comfortably mild — Hilary liked to think it was just the protective aura of the building, nurtured and cared for by Grandpa Granger and now by Tyson and maybe someday...

She paused by the ajar door and an affectionate smile tugged at her lips even as she shook her head and eased the door open enough to step inside. Of course he'd be here.

"Tyson," she whispered, moving closer to him, tucking her slightly longer than shoulder length brown hair behind her ear.

He stood silently over the small cot, brown eyes soft and adoring though his fingers gripping the bars tightly.

"What are you doing?" she questioned, sliding her arms around him and resting her cheek against the heat and strength of his back. Her best friend, her partner, her husband, her everything. Not for the first time she realised that she was a blessed woman. Though if she'd told her thirteen year old self that one day she'd marry Tyson Granger, she'd have been understandably dubious, if not a little intrigued. Even at thirteen years old, there was a strange undeniable attraction to Tyson — there must have been something to explain why he got so deeply under her skin — and now that she was a grown married woman, she was allowed to romanticise it a little.

"I just check on him from time to time. Just so if he wakes up, he'll not be alone."

Kissing his back, just between his shoulder blades, she peered around him into the cot where their son rested on his back, tiny - oh so adorable - fist pressed to his mouth. "I think you're more concerned about him being in a room on his own, than he is."

"He's growing so fast. He's already got five teeth. That's more than Rin and Gou put together."

Smiling at the fond exasperation, she reached down to stroke a finger over the velvet softness of her son's hot cheek. He smacked his lips and a little frown appeared before he lost himself in dreams again. Little Makoto Granger was six months old going on four, racing through the mile stones most babies took their time with. If he rushing out of the starting gate already, she knew the next eighteen years were going to be interesting at least.

"He takes after you," she mused.

"Or you," Tyson retorted softly with a laugh, his fingers lacing with hers over the firm plain of his abdomen, "the consummate overachiever. I swear today he was trying to take his first step."

She chuckled and nuzzled his shoulder. "We'll have to get him a beyblade soon."

"He'll be a world champ before Kai's son even learns to walk." He grinned, pressing a kiss to her hair. "We made a good looking baby, Hilary."

That they did: a tiny little prodigy of a child with a beatific smile that charmed everyone he met. Each and every day he did something new that stunned her and melted her heart and it killed her that sometimes work required her to leave him for a few hours a day. It was always during those hours that he would do something different as if waiting for his mother to be out of the room to become adventurous. At least Tyson always made an effort to record Makoto's little feats of interest so that she could experience them second hand. And, of course, she did the same whenever Tyson had to teach a class at the dojo or whenever he was taking a beyblade class. They had a partnership, one that worked better than she'd ever expected.

"You know," Tyson began, voice dropping low, finger stroking over the centre of her palm creating little tingles of pleasure, "now that we're both awake maybe we should find something to pass the time until Makoto wakes for his next feed."

Biting her lip, Hilary glanced up at Tyson, brown eyes laughing into his. "It just so happens that I have something to show you."

"Oh?" A navy brow lifted.

With a smirk, Hilary tugged his hand leading him towards the hall, careful to allow the hall light into the room so that Makoto wouldn't be left entirely in the dark. Tyson's body bumped into hers and she barely suppressed a giggle as she spun in to him, arms looping around his neck. His lips brushed her throat, teeth grazing, and she sighed, arching into him. His hands slid under her robe, hot and firm, as her fingers traced circles over the nape of his neck.

"Mmm, that's a nice idea, Tyson, but I wanted to show you something else."

His hum of disagreement vibrated over her skin and she curled her fingers into his hair, lifting his face so she could meet his eyes. "You'll want to see this."

He exhaled loudly and his busy hands dropped from under her robe. "Okay, what is it?"

Linking her fingers with his, she drew him to the kitchen, turning on the lamp so it sent a wash of golden light through the room, and over to the table, ignoring the way his free hand tried to settle on her hips. Finding the bag where she left it, she presented it with a flourish to her husband, enjoying the way his expression lit up — she could almost guess where his mind had gone.

"Uh, Hilary, what is this?" Tyson asked, pulling out a small red and blue cap and an equally small yellow t-shirt and red jacket.

Entertained by the way he held the clothes between his fingers, she leaned back against the table and folded her arms. "Don't you recognise them?"

"Did you shrink them?"

Did she... "No, you idiot." Taking them from him, she held them up so he could see them properly.

Tyson rubbed his eyes. "Hilary, I know you've lost weight but they're not going to fit you. Your head won't even fit in the cap."

"Tyson!" Her tone was sharp before she forced herself to calm down. He was sleep deprived. He was a doting father who got out of bed to check on his baby son, so of course his brain wasn't working properly. "It's a baby costume."

"Of what?"

"Of you." Exasperated, she put the clothes aside and rose up to place her hands on his cheeks, maybe in some way she could pass a few brain cells to her loving husband via osmosis. "When you were at the height of your success, Grandpa Granger and Mr Tate came up with this idea of doing a set of Bladebreaker costumes for cosplays and Halloween. Of course Halloween wasn't very popular at the time, and cosplaying a sports star seemed weird, so the idea never really took off but apparently Mr Tate kept a few of them and Max came across this one in Makoto's size this afternoon. That's why I was late getting home, I had to call around to his to collect it. I was thinking Makoto could wear it for the Halloween party we're hosting for your blading group."

Tyson's lips curved and he scratched his nose. "Heh, he'd be even more like a world champion then." Aw she knew he'd like it. "We have to take photos to show Kai."

She dropped her hands and stepped back. "Really Tyson?!"

"He started it. He says his son is better than ours."

"That's clearly not true. Our son is amazing."

"And that Gou will destroy Makoto at Beyblade," he said, muffling a yawn.

She scowled. "Well, that's assuming that Gou actually wants to blade when he's older, which is a very long time from now." She didn't even bother mentioning Makoto, since she knew how deep in denial Tyson was about whether his son would be interested in blading or not.

"If Gou walks before Makoto, Kai's going to gloat."

She pressed her fingers to his lips. "You two are not going to put pressure on your sons. You keep your rivalry to yourselves, okay?"

Tyson nodded and put his arms around her, pressing his thumbs into the dimples at the base of her back so that she squirmed into him. He kissed her lips lightly. "You're a wise woman, Mrs Granger."

"Well, someone has to be."

"And it doesn't matter what happens with Makoto and Gou or if Kai beats me in the beydish because I'll always still be the luckiest man to have you and Makoto and five amazing life long friends."

She smiled up at him and pressed her lips softly to his before drawing back. "And now I know you're sleep deprived because you're getting sappy."

He dropped his head to nuzzle her neck and she sank her fingers into his hair, tugging on the strands gently. "You should go to bed, Tyson; I'll be up to feed Makoto when he wakes." Which wouldn't be long now, judging from the time shown on the small decorative clock on the counter.

"But sex," Tyson whined, nipping at the vulnerable skin at her neck in a way that had her knees curling and her skin shivering.

She flushed and buried her face in his shoulder. "Tyson, you're tired."

He drew back, eyes narrowed and a pout on his lips. "Is that a challenge?"

She slid her fingers along the waistband of his pants and tilted her head. "Is it a challenge you think you can meet?"

His hand clamped over his mouth as he yawned so hard his jaw cracked and belligerent eyes met hers. "You win. This sucks. Kai better be jealous of the costume because it just cost me sex."

As Tyson stomped off — and she knew he'd be face down on the bed, dead to the world in a little under five minutes — Hilary stepped back to cool off and put the costume away. And she patted herself on the back for being smart enough not to mention that she'd posted Kai and Rei costumes of themselves for Gou and Rin to wear (she particularly wanted to see what baby Rin would look like dressed as Rei). Tyson could find out about that later, when he wasn't quite so annoyed.

A.N. You guys were absolutely amazing with the reviews! I was gobsmacked and touched and thank you all so much. They just make all the hours sitting in front of the computer and getting a sore back worthwhile! My little writers soul was well fed!