"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
The baby had begun wailing loudly the second they stepped into the coffee shop. The crying both startled and confused the two chameleons. They didn't have enough knowledge of how babies communicate, despite babysitting Filburt and Dr. Hutchinson's kids on multiple occasions in the past. Well, they were fully capable of speech... This was a newborn human baby they were looking after; the kind that just cries and screams loudly. The baby was already causing stress for the lizards and it hasn't even been a full hour yet!
Leon gently placed the baby down on the sofa.
"What's wrong with her? Is she broken or something?" He asked as he watched the baby cry her lungs out.
Chuck buried his head in his hands, whispering under his breath "Why did we ever choose to adopt this baby…"
"Aww, C'mon Chuck! You wanted her." Leon sassed, crossing his arms.
"Wanted her?!" retorted Chuck. "I only said that just to make you happy!"
"Oh yeah?!" Leon spat.
"YEAH!" Chuck argued.
The brothers began slapping each other like two school-aged kids fighting.
"Take that, booby!" Leon yelled as he threw a wild punch in his brother's face.
Chuck gasped with his hands covering his mouth.
"How, I'm OFFENDED!"
He latched his teeth onto Leon's neck, causing the chameleon to begin screaming in agony.
"AAAAHHHH! STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" cried Leon as he struggled for air.
The two chameleons turn around to the baby, who was left mute by the fight.
"Well, at least she stopped crying.." said Chuck.
Without any warning whatsoever, the baby once again continued her blood-curdling screech fest.
The two brothers both began groaning out of pure frustration, shaking their heads. They stood there feeling all hopeless as they watched the baby unleash her screams of the devil.
"I seriously can't wait until she's all grown up…" moaned Chuck as he shook his head out of stress. "Why can't babies be born as adults?"
"We're gonna have to wait 18 years on that one, Chuck," muttered Leon. "A very long time.."
3 hours later…
It was now afternoon, and the infant was still crying her everlasting lungs out. The chameleons have tried everything they could to calm her down; taking turns rocking her in their arms and bouncing her on their backs, shushing her, singing to her, wrapping her in a soft blanket, playing with her… Nothing worked.
Their sanity and patience were slowly crashing downward. They couldn't take it anymore. It was to the point where Leon angrily dropped the baby on the couch and began sobbing uncontrollably.
"Why won't you stop crying?! WHY?! Can you please save my sanity?! PLEASE! JUST SHUT UP!"
The baby finally halted her screaming at the intimidating, but the desperate tone of his voice.
Leon sighed out of relief, "Thank you."
"Now what does she want?" asked Chuck.
"I don't know, she could be hungry.." said Leon. "All we need is to get some milk."
"Bro, we don't have milk." Chuck articulated. "We ran out of it the other day."
"Then what should she eat?! She can't go hungry all day!" Leon asked again as he picked up the baby.
"I'll go to the store…." Chuck rolled his eyes at his younger twin. "You keep an eye on the baby."
"Odie dokie, Chuck! Anything I'll do for my dear brother!" Leon chirped, placing the baby on his back.
It wasn't long before Leon was alone with the baby. Without his older, wiser brother to help him, he would have to deal with her crying by himself. Luckily, she wasn't fussy as of now. She was just happily sitting backward on Leon's back, trying to grab his tail.
"How is it back there, baby?" grinned Leon. He bounced his back a few times.
"Hee hee!" the baby giggled.
"You're such a little gem… Oh! I could name you Gemina! Yeah, like a little gem!" chortled Leon.
The baby cooed in response, "Aaaaahh…"
"You and I are gonna gave so much fun together-" Leon noticed the baby picking at his skin. The skin felt leathery and scaly.
"Hey there, buddy. What are you doing?" Leon chuckled nervously as his tail drooped down. The pinching and poking felt rather uncomfortable for him.
The baby leaned against his tail and began giggling. It was unknown what she was laughing at. Well, her eyesight isn't that strong anyway, she was a newborn after all. But she sure enjoyed sitting on the lizard's back.
"Gemina.." Leon snapped his fingers in front of her face.
The baby ignored his calls. The lizard strolled around the cafe, trying to get her to listen to him. She still carried on laughing at nothing. Leon figured the reason why she was laughing was because of his tail. He wagged his tail to test this theory. The baby laughed harder.
"Wheee!" she squealed as she tried to touch his slimy tail.
"Hmmm.." Leon removed her from his back.
The baby began crying loudly, "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
This caused Leon to panic. He immediately scooped her up and placed her on his back. The baby stopped crying in a flash. She continued giggling happily as she played with his tail.
"At least I can carry her on my back. My arms won't ache if I hold her all day." Leon whispered. "I just hope it doesn't become a habit when she's older…"
A familiar voice was heard, "I'm back!"
Chuck returned with bags of groceries in his arms. "So, how was the baby? Was she okay?"
"Yes, yes! She's just playing with my tail right now.." Leon clarified.
Chuck unpacked the groceries on the coffee table. The contents of the groceries were: a bottle, a purple blanket, formula, pacifiers, a green plaid dress with white socks and a bonnet, pink footie pajamas, a flower headband, diapers, wipes, baby powder, baby food, a Moses basket, and a small teddy bear.
These supplies were just right for caring for a new baby. Simple, but necessary.
"You want to feed her, Chuck?" Leon asked.
"Sure," Chuck picked the baby off from Leon's back. The baby immediately began fussing.
"Why is she getting all fussy now?" Chuck asked, rocking the baby gently in his arms.
"She seems to enjoy sitting on our backs, I don't know why," Leon explained as he poured the formula into the bottle.
"Make sure you get that bottle into her mouth before she starts up," Chuck warned. The baby turned her head towards his back. She looked as if she were about to cry.
"Shh, shh, I know. You'll get your bottle in a second," Chuck soothed, rocking and swaying her in his arms.
Gemina wasn't really hungry, she just wanted to sit on the chameleons' backs.
"Bottle's ready!" announced Leon. He handed the fresh bottle to Chuck.
Chuck tried to feed Gemina, but she kept turning her head away. She lunged towards his back like an injured inchworm. Tears were forming in her green eyes as she tried to climb onto his back.
"What's the matter, honey? Why don't you what to eat? Are you not hungry?" Chuck reassured.
Gemina began crying pitifully as she grabbed onto his back. Chuck frowned at the poor baby girl. Maybe she wasn't hungry after all...
"I think she wants to sit on my back.." Chuck claimed in a mournful tone.
"What did I tell you?" Leon scooped Gemina from his brother's arms and placed her on his back. She immediately transitioned from crying to smiling in a matter of seconds.
"Should we still feed her while she's sitting on your back?" Chuck asked.
"Save it for later," Leon denied. He watched Gemina play with his skin folds contentedly. "Whatever you do, do NOT take her off."
"Obviously, my brother," Chuck nodded. "We don't want her crying for the rest of the day."
Fatherhood didn't seem like it would all be easy for The Chameleon Brothers. With this specific baby being high-maintenance and all, it would definitely be like fighting a polar bear.