Chapter 3

Once the lunch time was over, Milo and Eclairs came back to Scorpio temple. Kanon insisted accompanying him passing Deathmask's house, though.

"Preventing one thousand years war," murmured Kanon.

But when Milo and Eclairs arrived at Scorpio temple, suddenly the baby was crying.

"What is it, sweety?" Milo hugged her and shook her body slightly to calm her down, but she kept crying. Her sobs went louder and louder that Milo began to get panic.

"Sssh…twinkle twinkle little star…how I wonder what you are…," Milo sang, hoping she would turn quiet, but in contrast she cried louder and struggled to get herself away from Milo.

Milo sighed and hugged her tighter. He knew it; the baby must miss her mother and wanted to come back to her arms.

"Please calm down, sweety…," begged Milo.

When he discovered there was no use asking her to calm down, he decided to ask for any help. He quickly approached his phone and picked it up. The baby was still in his arms, crying so hard. Milo's heart shrunk, pitying the baby whose face has turned scarlet because of her sobs.

"Hello, Camus?" greeted Milo on his phone. "Listen, I need your help now—"

"What do you want?!"

Milo blinked.

Camus's touchy voice was really out of his prediction…

"I want you to help me—"

"No way!" snarled Camus.

Milo began to feel irritated as well. "Why not?!"

"Why yes?!" Camus snarled.

"Listen, Fridge, there's—"

"I don't care!" Camus cut.

"What is it with you?!"

"What is it with me?! I'll tell you, YOUR SCORPIONS WERE PENETRATING MY TEMPLE AGAIN AND I HAVE TO PREVENT MYSELF PUTTING THEM INTO MY COLDEST REFRIGERATOR, YOU HEAR ME?!!!"

Milo has to get his phone fifty centimeters away. He couldn't believe Camus could be that out of character only because of the scorpions. Yet he still had to force Camus to come to his temple soon—Eclairs never stop crying.

"Camus," said Milo after he returned the phone to his ear. "There's a baby in my temple, she's crying right now, I don't know how to calm her down—"

"Don't try to trick me!"

"My goodness, Camus, listen to this!" snarled Milo as he got the phone closer to Eclairs. Now Camus could hear her sobs clearly.

"See?" Milo said. "Please, Camus, I truly don't know what to do!"

"Alright, alright!"

Camus then turned off the phone. Milo took a relief breath as he put the phone down. "You'll meet Uncle Camus, sweety, he'll treat you better than me," smiled Milo.

He kept carrying her in his arms and shook her and calmed her down, though there wasn't any use for Eclairs stayed crying and crying.

Milo was too busy singing for her and calming her down that he wasn't aware Camus has stood at his exit, staring at him blankly.

Milo has just realized it five minutes later. "Oh thanks God," he said as he approached his best friend. "What are you looking at, Fridge, come on help me calm the baby down."

Camus's expression wasn't changed, he still gazed at Milo, apparently didn't believe in what he was looking at.

A man who was formerly the assassin of Sanctuary was carrying a baby girl and nurturing her as his own child.

"What is—perfume???" Milo was completely baffled seeing many bottles of perfumes in Camus's hands.

Camus finally blinked.

"What are you bringing the perfumes for??" Milo asked again. Seeing Camus bringing perfumes were just like seeing Aphrodite doing weightlifting.

"I borrow these from Aphrodite."

"Yeah, great Camus, that makes me better, at least you don't own it yourself…"

"Shut up, Milo, now call her mother and asks her what perfume she usually uses."

"She's Shaina's niece, I don't know her mother."

"Call Shaina then, ask her."

"What for?"

"Just do it, ok?" said Camus impatiently.

There's no other thing Milo could do. He soon picked the phone, still with the baby wailing in his arms.

"Hello, Shaina? What perfume does Eclairs's mother usually uses?" he asked immediately.

He was surprised for Shaina didn't wonder why he suddenly asked such thing.

"Vanilla," Shaina answered. "Oh, I'm sorry, Milo, I didn't tell you earlier…! The baby's whimpering, isn't she…?"

"Err…it's ok. Yes, she's whimpering…that's fine, Camus is here to help me. Thanks, Shaina, bye," he said as he put down the phone. "Vanilla, she said," he told Camus.

Camus examined the perfumes he brought, looking for the bottle of vanilla perfume, then sighed after he found it. He put the other bottles down and started to pour some drops of the vanilla fragrance on his turtleneck cloth.

Now Milo really wondered whether Camus has been really possessed by Aphrodite's spirit.

"Bring the baby to me," said Camus as he paid out his hands. Milo did what he asked. Camus carried her in his arms…and….

……………

Voila…!

The baby suddenly stopped crying!

Camus's cold handsome face softened as he hugged the baby and shook her and stroking her back. His paternal feature made him really looked like her father.

"How come?" asked Milo after he's been able to talk.

"The fragrance of her mother," answered Camus simply. "When you babysit a baby and she started to miss her mother, perfume your clothes with the fragrance her mother usually uses and let her attached on your arms afterwards. It will calm her down because it reminds her of her mother."

Milo looked amazed. "Where did you learn that?"

"Milo, I'm always mistaken as Hyoga's father not because of nothing," answered Camus as he sat on the couch and kept clapping Eclairs's back so softly. Milo sat beside him and watched Eclairs who seemed very comfortable in her new babysitter's arms.

As time went by, she finally closed her eyes in peacefulness.

"She's sleeping," said Milo.

"Yes," said Camus, smiled slightly.

"You know, Camus, better I entrust her to you, you seem having more experience in doing something like this."

"No, Milo, this is your responsibility, ok?" said Camus. Very softly and slowly, he gave the sleeping baby to Milo. Milo carried her again and let her sleeping in his arms. "I don't have any talent for this," murmured Milo.

"You don't need any talent to nurture a baby, you just need kindness and patience."

Milo didn't reply.

Patience, yes, he sort of had it.

But kindness…

"I have to come back to my temple, who knows what your scorpions do to my things," said Camus incoherently. "By the way, may I borrow your T-shirt?"

"What for?"

"What do you expect, me passing Aiolos and Shura's temples with vanilla fragrance over my body?"

Milo laughed out loud; Camus only glared at him and walked to Milo's room to exchange his clothes.

When he has been finished and went to leave Scorpio temple, Milo smiled and saying, "Thanks, Camus."

"You're welcome."

Milo kept hugging the baby in his arms, letting his arms to be her cot to sleep.

***

When it has been midnight, the baby woke up.

Milo smiled at her sleepy feature before carrying her in his arms and walked to the terrace.

"You wanna see the stars, sweety?" he asked as he sat on the bench and guided the baby to see the dark purple sky. "What's your zodiac sign?"

Of course Eclairs couldn't understand his question. She only looked at the sky with her sleepy eyes and sometimes pointlessly swung her hands up and down.

"Look, that's Aquarius," said Milo as he pointed the sky. There was slight warm smile on his handsome face. "The zodiac sign I like most," the blue haired said.

Several minutes later Eclairs turned her head from the sky and seemed more interested in Milo's fingers which still pointing the stars. She pulled his finger and looked at his red nail with her bright blue eyes. She then swung her hands up and down and laughed happily.

"You like my nail?" asked Milo quietly. His blue eyes looked at the baby softly.

Eclairs kept holding his nail and laughed cheerfully, as if she didn't want to let go.

"This is not as nice as you've thought, you know…," he said in a soft voice.

The flashes of Andromeda Island suddenly haunting him again. His heart was always covered with pain when he remembered it…

"I use it…," he paused for a minute. "To kill…"

He smiled gloomily at the baby, who has stopped laughing and watched him in silent.

Did she understand what he was talking about…?

He was waiting the baby to cry or maybe shout, but she didn't do it. Only looking at him with her pure eyes and only heaven knows what she was thinking about.

"I'm an assassin," he said quietly. "Deathmask is right all the way…"

The baby put her head on his chest.

Milo didn't know whether she understood what he was saying, but he was quite relieved she was still willing to lay her head on his chest and listening to his heartbeat.

The Scorpio hugged her and clapped her back very softly, his eyes were still on the Aquarius constellation.

At last he backgrounded Eclairs's sleep with a song.

"Lullaby…and goodnight…, with roses bedight...with lilies o'er spread is baby's wee bed...," he sang very softly and slowly, until the baby went sleeping and he began to close his eyes as well.

"…lay thee down now and rest, may thy slumber be blessed...Lay thee down now and rest, may thy slumber be blessed…"

………………

In Scorpio exit, Camus watched his best friend with a rare warm smile.

***