Hello there! Here's the next installment for this little series! I enjoyed writing this one a lot, so I hope you enjoy reading it!
As always, I own none of the things. Just putting words on a page.
Now, onto the story!
Butch could hardly believe his little girl was already a year old. He'd watched her start growing into her own little person, and what a person she was!
Belladonna walked the earliest out of all the cousins. Now she could practically run! And Butch had spotted her starting to float here and there too.
Which, while cool, was easily the most terrifying thing he'd experienced so far. He and Buttercup had immediately bubble wrapped every remotely sharp edge in the entire house. If Belladonna mastered flying as quickly as she'd mastered walking, they were in trouble.
Of course she was exceptional! She had the most kick ass parents, so it was only natural that Belladonna, his little BD, was a mover and a shaker with the best of them. (He remained convinced that BD could kick the asses of all her cousins already. No one wanted to test that theory though. Because those cowards knew the truth!)
However, for all of her incredible achievements, (the first time she giggled from something he did, Butch about sobbed) his precious daughter remained remarkably silent.
She hadn't uttered a single word yet. But all of her cousins had. All five of them!
Bryson and Blaine were older, of course. But their first words had both been "Mama," much to the disappointment of his brothers.
Boomer had a comeback when both his twin girls, Bonnie and Bailey, both chose "Dada" as their first word. Bubbles had been devastated, of course. But really – she got the first one! It was only fair!
Brick, on the other hand, did not get as lucky with his daughter. Little Briella's first word had been "Bry-Bry!" Obviously referring to her older brother Bryson who, even at three, realized what a big moment that was.
So Butch would be damned if he didn't do everything in his power to be BD's first word.
It had gotten to the point that, short of bathroom emergencies and work, neither Butch nor his beautiful wife left the other alone with their baby for long. Any lost moment could be losing the advantage of being the first word!
Plus, what if he missed it?! He'd never forgive himself.
Thus, here they sat, feeding her dinner, each trying to coax their baby into saying their honorific first.
"Come on, baby girl. Say it! Say 'Dada," Butch said as he placed her plate of finely chopped food in front of her.
Belladonna stuffed a couple of pieces of hot dog into her mouth without looking at him. She picked another piece up and began squishing it between her fingers.
"BD, don't play with your food. Eat it," Buttercup said.
Butch snickered. "She's never going to say the 'M' word before 'Dada' if you keep bossing her around."
"One of us has to be the parent here. And it looks like it has to be her Mama."
"Well, Dada knows she's just a baby! She'll learn."
"Mama has been getting an earful from her sisters about BD putting food in their children's hair."
"Dada thinks it's just hair. Wash it."
Buttercup sighed, rubbing her temples. "Mama agrees with you but only has so much patience for sonic shrieking over the phone."
"Fair. That would totally suc-stink." Butch caught himself, luckily. Censoring himself had been one of the hardest things about parenting for him.
That and changing diapers. Seriously. Baby poop was even grosser than regular poop, and neither was exactly pleasant…
BD finished her food and promptly slammed the paper plate on her high chair with a giggle.
"Okay, BD. We get it, sweetie," Buttercup murmured, taking the plate away and giving her hands a quick wipe down. "When are you going to say your first word, huh?"
"When she's ready. Isn't that what you always say?"
Buttercup sighed with a wistful smile this time. "I know. I'm actually kind of glad she hasn't said her first words yet."
His brow furrowed. Huh? Hadn't they been competing about this very thing only minutes before? "What do you mean?"
"I just can't believe she's growing up so fast that her first word could come any day now, you know? I guess I'm just ready for the anticipation of this next huge milestone towards her becoming her own person to be over."
Butch leaned over and kissed her temple, smiling softly. "Yeah. How did a year go by so fast?"
"And of course she couldn't make this easy. Our kid would be the one to fly before she talks."
"Are you really ready for a kid as mouthy as us?" Butch teased.
She paused. "Oh God. You know what, Belladonna? You don't have to talk. Ever. Forget we said anything."
Butch then leaned over to whisper to his daughter. "See? You can say 'Dada' first now."
His wife shot him a dark look. "Not a chance! She'll say 'Mama' first!"
"I thought you didn't want her talking yet?"
"I don't! But if she's going to talk, she should say 'Mama' first!"
"Dada!"
"Mama!"
"DADA!"
"MAMA!"
Then a little, unfamiliar voice piped up with, "Atie!"
Butch and Buttercup both immediately silenced and glanced at BD who smiled brightly at them.
"Did she just -?"
"Atie!"
"What is she saying?" Butch murmured, torn between his heart swelling with pride and being confused as hell about what his daughter was trying to say.
"What, Belladonna?" Buttercup prompted, a guarded look on her face. That expression boded ill for him…though he wasn't exactly sure why or how.
"Atie! Atie Bubba!" she replied cheerfully.
What.
What?!
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?
Were his baby's first words seriously Auntie Bubbles?
"Spitfire…why were those her first words?" Butch asked, hesitant to even do so given the dark look on his wife's face.
"I have a guess." The phrase was hissed out through gritted teeth. Then she disappeared from the kitchen.
Butch and Belladonna just looked at each other for a moment before Buttercup zipped back in with the iPod dock from the baby's room.
Wordlessly, Buttercup put on the playlist they used to lull BD to sleep. She always slept better with some noise.
And, now that Butch thought about it, Bubbles insisted on creating it for them…
The first song that played was very familiar. The sisters had re-recorded a song from their childhood for their kids.
"La la la, la la love. La la love. Makes the world go 'round."
"Atie Bubba!" Belladonna cheered.
Buttercup skipped through a few tracks to the portion of the playlist where they assumed Belladonna was asleep by. The title of the first track was simply, "Bubbles."
"Hi, Belladonna, you beautiful baby girl! This is your Auntie Bubbles. I just wanted to tell you that Auntie Bubbles loves you soooo much! You're Auntie Bubbles favorite green Jojo!"
The diatribe continued on for another ten minutes of Bubbles referring to herself in the third person, praising their daughter.
"I should have known," Buttercup moaned.
"Atie Bubba!"
With a scowl, Buttercup grabbed her cell phone off the counter, dialing her baby sister, he was sure.
In confirmation, he soon heard her say, "Good evening, Bubbles" in a dangerously clipped tone. "You'll never guess what my daughter's first words were…"
As she left, Butch looked back to his daughter and, to his horror, saw an all-too-familiar smirk looking back at him.
She had never looked more like him than she did in this moment.
"BD…do you know what you did?" he questioned in awe, brows furrowed.
With a giggle that devolve back into that same smirk, she poked his cheek and conspiratorially whispered, "Dada." Then cackled.
Butch stared at her for a moment, torn about whether or not to call Buttercup back in to brag.
But, somehow, he knew Belladonna wouldn't do it again if he did. He could tell from the evil little smirk on her face.
His genes had created a devious little monster! …And he couldn't be more proud.
Oh that Belladonna, am I right? XD I just love picturing the Greens as having this impish little bugger for a child. So I hope you can all delight with me in my total troll baby. XD
If you have the time or are interested, I'd love to hear your thoughts in a review! And any suggestions for things you might want to see! I've gotten a couple that I already plan to use. :) If your suggestion is something I have an idea for, I will do my best to work it in as long as it doesn't directly conflict with something else I have planned already.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this little chapter!
Love and Rockets,
Stranique