Over a month had passed since Larry 3000 and Tuddrussel had rescued Otto from freezing in a cardboard box, and things hadn't improved. Not even in the slightest. Ever since Otto came into their world, Tuddrussel and Larry's relationship had been on a rocky decline. Not a day passed without the two arguing and fighting over trivial things. Whether the fight was regarding Otto or the last slice of pizza, there was always something to complain about at the space station. Punches would be thrown, insults would be hurled, and threats would be made — that was normality, alongside the pointless bickering. On the other hand, Otto was a peaceful angel who often spent his days sleeping and eating. Larry and Tuddrussel should consider themselves lucky that they were blessed with a baby who usually didn't cry too much. Although Otto was a good baby, there was a catch to him — he wanted to be held by Larry all the time. When he wasn't sleeping, drinking milk, or getting his diaper changed, he was begging Larry to hold him. Tuddrussel was chopped liver; Otto couldn't care less about that man (except when he was being fed). He had Larry wrapped around his little fingers. It had escalated to the point where Larry only did chores while Otto was napping. During that dreadful afternoon, he dusted, vacuumed, wrote some reports on the computer for completed missions, and whipped up some lunch for Tuddrussel (despite constantly fighting with the man). As Tuddrussel happily ate his cheeseburger, Larry was busy catching his breath. He tossed his chef's hat on the kitchen counter and laid his head down.
"I've never felt so exhausted in my entire life!" groaned Larry.
"What's wrong, Larry?! Has parenthood finally worn you out?!" teased Tuddrussel as he casually nibbled on his cheeseburger.
"Yes, it has, actually! Ever since we adopted Otto, I haven't been able to complete one task without hearing crying through the baby monitor!" Larry whined, holding up a small plastic walkie-talkie.
The robot slammed the walkie-talkie onto the counter and grumbled loudly, shaking his head tiredly.
"I've never felt like a disorganized slob! Not even when I'm working with you!" huffed Larry.
"What?! What did I do?! I didn't do anything to you!" Tuddrussel snapped, dropping his cheeseburger out of shock.
"Oh, you've done a lot of things to me…" growled Larry.
The robot sighed as he poured himself a glass of oil. He sat down at the table and began to drink his glass while glaring at Tuddrussel. He held his glare even as he occasionally checked on the walkie-talkie, holding it up to his nonexistent ears. He was hoping that he could get at least a single hour for himself. The paranoia surrounding Otto had gotten to the point where he attempted to tape the walkie-talkie to the side of his head (Tuddrussel was smart enough to stop him before it could happen).
"Still thinking about the baby, huh?" asked Tuddrussel.
Before Larry could respond, a cacophony of crying blared through the walkie-talkie. Otto had finally woken up, realizing that his favorite robot mother wasn't there to hold him. Larry grumbled angrily, slamming his half-empty glass of oil on the table.
"Damn it…" muttered Larry, getting up from the table to respond to Otto's cries for help.
He trudged into his bedroom to find Otto, crying hysterically in his bassinet with the reddest face ever imagined on a baby. No seriously! Otto's face was even redder than on previous occasions. Not only that, but his voice was also becoming hoarse from all the intense crying he often performed. He had broken out of his swaddle, flailing his limbs violently while thrashing his head from side to side. Otto was acting like it was the end of the world… even though there was nothing to even cry about! He could've been freezing in the Chicago cold instead of sleeping in a cozy bassinet. How ungrateful of him (at least what Larry thought). The robot felt pent-up frustration building inside of him the longer he listened to Otto's screams. He knew that Otto was just going to keep screaming unless he held him, so he had no choice but to give in.
"Come here, you pesky little brat…" grumbled Larry, scooping Otto from his bassinet.
Otto stopped crying the second he was in Larry's arms. He curled up against Larry's chest and fell asleep, making contented moaning noises. Larry flashed a brief smile when he looked down at the baby boy cuddling with him.
"Good. You've stopped crying. Now, what's the problem, young man?" asked Larry.
Otto unexpectedly broke into a coughing fit. It turned out that Otto had accidentally inhaled a fume coming from an extremely tiny vent in Larry's chest, naked to the bare eye. Larry's chest not only had a built-in radio, but it also had a small furnace inside, obscured by cluttered gear and wires. The furnace usually helped regulate his temperature when it was cold in the space station (or when he was venturing to a cold place). Otto liked that. He might've not been able to show actual emotions yet, but that didn't mean he was never satisfied, especially when he was nestled against the warm furnace that was Larry's chest. It was no wonder Otto heavily relied on Larry for warmth and protection. Larry returned the affection by slinging the baby over his shoulder and rubbing his blanket-covered back.
"You think I'm your personal fireplace, huh?" Larry chuckled, patting and rubbing Otto's back. "Oh, you can treat me however you want! I'm all yours, baby!"
Larry began to quietly hum as he switched to rocking Otto in his arms. As he rocked Otto, he found a star-shaped pacifier lying next to a frilly pillow in the bassinet. Otto had unintentionally spat his pacifier out while he was napping, which made him realize that Larry wasn't around for him (thus causing his crying fit).
"Oh, you've spat your binky out! Did little Otto spit his binky out?! Did he spit his binky out so that he could call out to the wild mommy?!" cooed Larry, nuzzling his mouth against Otto.
Otto woke up and locked eyes with Larry, who was continuing to coo fondly at him. Larry noticed and began to tickle Otto's chin, trying to get him to utter some noises back at him. It was as if he was trying to initiate a conversation between son and mother. Unfortunately, Otto didn't have anything to say.
"Aw, well! Better luck next time, sweetie!" Larry chirped before planting a kiss on Otto's forehead.
Larry picked up the pacifier and popped it into Otto's mouth, prompting the baby boy to go back to sleep. He then placed Otto back in his bassinet and walked out of the room. A rush of sheer relief raced through his body as the burden of dealing with Otto was behind him. He was able to do the things he wanted to do (at least for now).
"Okay, Larry… Now that the baby is back to sleep, you can… relax!" sighed Larry.
Before Larry could go anywhere, Otto began to cry again. Larry grumbled frustratedly as he tramped back into his bedroom to pick up Otto. When Otto was in the robot's arms, he immediately stopped crying and went back to sleep. That was when Larry began to finally realize that Otto was emotionally attached to him — way too attached. Granted, Larry showed similar feelings toward Otto, but at least he didn't cry every time he was away from him. Not helping was that Otto was using him as a bed, more so than his expensive bassinet.
"Why?! Why can't you just be quiet for a minute?! Why don't you ever leave me alone?!" whined Larry.
Larry frowned as he glanced down at the baby boy, who was happily snuggling against his chest. Otto seemed to be most comfortable in Larry's arms, judging by the slight smile on his face as he slept. It was too bad Larry didn't notice Otto smiling; he was more concerned about catching up on his Jackie Collins novels and tending to his garden. But noticing how contented Otto looked in his arms, Larry had no choice but to give in.
"Oh, alright! You can sleep in mommy's arms! But only for now! I'm gonna have to sleep train you very soon…" the robot sighed defeatedly as he grabbed a baby sling from his closet.
He wrapped Otto in the sling and fastened the straps around his chest and shoulders. He was good to go (well, at least externally, he was). Emotionally, he was extremely exhausted. Behind that confident grin was a cry for help. There was a desperate need for support, especially when it came to dealing with an overly-attached newborn. Although he initially didn't want Tuddrussel to interact with Otto, he was starting to regret that decision. There was a reason why fathers existed — to help the mother.
"I can't do this…" muttered Larry, frowning and slumping his shoulders forward.
He sauntered into the kitchen, where Tuddrussel was sneaking cookies from the cookie jar. Larry would usually scold Tuddrussel for eating cookies before dinner, but right now, he didn't care. Heck, he would do anything to get Tuddrussel to help him spare him from spiraling into insanity. Even as Tuddrussel shoved a handful of cookies into his mouth, Larry simply tapped him on the shoulder.
"Huh?! What is it, rust butt?!" asked Tuddrussel as he turned his head toward Larry, who was on his knees in a traditional begging position.
"TUDDRUSSEL! I NEED YOUR HELP! THIS BABY HAS ME WRAPPED AROUND HIS FINGER!" bawled Larry.
"Meaning that he wants to be held by you all the time? And only you all the time?" Tuddrussel clarified as he shoved another handful of cookies into his mouth.
"YES! HE APPARENTLY HATES YOUR GUTS, SO IT'S ONLY MOMMY HE WANTS!" Larry answered dramatically, folding and shaking his hands. "I think it's quite cute… BUT IT'S JUST TOO MUCH! YOU, THE DADDY, NEED TO START HELPING OUT! I DON'T CARE IF HE SCREAMS AND CRIES FOR ME, JUST SPEND SOME TIME WITH HIM! ACTUALLY ACT LIKE A DAD! PLLLEEAAASSEEEE! I BEG YOU, TUDDRUSSEL! PLEASE!"
Tuddrussel pulled Larry up, standing him back on his feet, "Okay, okay! No need to be dramatic! I'll help you take care of Otto!"
"Thank you so much, Tuddy! Thank you, thank you, thank youuuu!" cried Larry, clinging onto Tuddrussel and planting a kiss on his chin.
He took Otto out of the sling and handed him to Tuddrussel. Luckily, Otto was deep into his sleep as Tuddrussel was cradling him. There was no need to worry about a potential crying fit — hopefully. Nonetheless, Tuddrussel was astonished by how tiny Otto was (in comparison to his bulky figure, at least). He was also astonished by how much Otto grew in the past month he's seen him.
"Wow, he's gotten bigger since the last time I held him! Still very tiny like a doll though!" Tuddrussel exclaimed as he gazed into the baby's closed, sleeping eyes.
"Which was nearly 5 weeks ago if I'm not mistaken?" inquired Larry.
"Yep, sadly it has been…" sighed Tuddrussel.
Just by holding Otto, Tuddrussel was starting to envy Larry for hogging all the times he could've been bonding with him. As he gently stroked the baby's hair tuft, he muttered to himself about Larry being a selfish baby hogger.
"Do you pinkie promise that you will help take care of the baby?" Larry pleaded calmly, lending his hand out for Tuddrussel to make a vow.
Tuddrussel glanced at Larry's hand; this robot was giving him a chance to take care of Otto and he wasn't going to blow it. One wrong move and it was done for good. He already screwed up a month ago by taking Otto on a mission to 1776 Philadelphia, which angered Larry to no end. The question was: would Larry move past the incident and trust Tuddrussel again? It was likely, but just as doubtful. Confident that he wasn't going to screw up his third chance, Tuddrussel smiled and shook hands with Larry. It wasn't every day that one would see Tuddrussel willingly agree with something.
"Promise!" grinned Tuddrussel as he shook hands with Larry.
"Now that we've got that out of the way, why don't you have some one-on-one time with Otto while I tidy up?" Larry ordered, slinging his arm around Tuddrussel's shoulders. "Okay, sweetie?!"
Larry planted another kiss on Tuddrussel's chin before walking away. Tuddrussel's entire face was bright red as a result of the robot spreading his affection all over him. The man had never ever experienced any kind of non-sarcastic love from his robotic partner — not even during each other's birthdays. In the past decade they've lived with each other in the space station, their days would usually consist of arguing or tough love. Granted, there were good days when they were warm toward each other, but those were the minority. Could adopting an orphaned baby boy from the early 1990s have brought them closer together? Most definitely. And hopefully, the Time Squad headquarters wouldn't know about Otto's existence. It was only a matter of time before some stool pigeon would spy on the men and report their violation — that violation being the "kidnapping" of baby Otto, who honestly deserved to be kidnapped in the first place.