Souma couldn't grasp what was going on. As soon as he picked up his phone, he was being yelled at before he could even utter a "Hello." All he caught was "Tootsuki" and "at noon" before the abrupt call ended.

Sighing heavily, he pocketed his phone and looked around the empty diner. Today was a closing day for the usually-crowded restaurant, but he liked to come in anyways to improve the menu's recipes. Seeing as he didn't have anything else to do, he locked up and made his way over to his old school...

...Only to regret even stepping foot outside the restaurant door.

Of course was aware about his class rivals Alice Nakiri and Ryou Kurokiba pairing up together (and not as cooking partners, as the girls had to break down for him.) However, he must have overlooked the part where they had a kid. Together. At 25 years old, he couldn't even imagine himself settling down with anyone just yet. He was still young and he still had so much to learn and experience! He didn't have time to play house!

And yet, here he was standing in front of the power couple. Even more surprising was Erina, who usually had too much on her plate to afford going out of her way for something like this. He wondered if she was like him, who had nothing much to do for the day.

"Yo." He greeted everyone. Then he turned to Erina, "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you were the one who called."

"Right." She said with a clipped tone. "Consider this a favor that I'll pay you back for later."

"A favor from my dearest girlfriend, huh?" He teased with a smug grin. "I probably shouldn't ask for anything in return, but in this case... I'll take you up on the offer."

The blond crossed her arms defiantly, "Just don't go acting brash like you usually do, got it?"

"I won't! So, why did you call me of all people?"

Erina could only blush, but it didn't stop her glare from sharpening. "It was more convenient since I knew you weren't working today. Besides, Alice wouldn't stop pestering me about it." She added, though it sounded more like a sudden afterthought. Before Souma could tease her further, a cough interrupted them.

"If you two could settle your lover's quarrel some other time; we have places to be soon." Alice remarked, looking unimpressed. Ryou silently waited next to her, holding a bundle against his shoulder in one arm and carrying a bulky-looking bag in the other. Like Alice, he was waiting for them to wrap it up. "Anyways, we'll be back in three days at the latest. We packed enough for until then. Anything else is in the notes I left in the baby's bag."

Then, she faced Souma with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "And if I hear about you so much as getting near my child with one of your bizarre recipes, I'll get Erina to smack you up the head. Better yet, I'll come down here myself to deal with you."

"I wouldn't even think of it." The redhead muttered nervously. The silver-haired girl nodded as if to say "You better not." She went up to Ryou and had him pass over their baby to her. Then she went to Erina and deposited him in her arms. Although clumsy at first, Alice guided her through the proper holding method. Erina seemed to be a bit uncomfortable with such a fragile load in her arms, but Souma thought she seemed as natural as could be.

"I'll leave our Yuu in your care, then. You know how to get in touch with me." Erina nodded and bid her farewells. Souma was watching the two, only for his attention to be directed at Ryou when he neared. Wordlessly, the man handed over the bag to Souma.

"Take care of him." Was all he said before taking his partner's side once more. It was a simple sentence, but Souma fully understood the hidden threat behind it.

"It feels like there's a whole closet in here!" he said to himself, lifting the bag a couple times.

"We'll be off then. See you in a few days!" Souma and Erina watched the two get into a car and disappear down the road, leaving them standing with nothing much else to say.

"So... your place or mine?" Souma asked.

"Wait, Erina, which container do I need to use?"

"The one that's clearly labeled as lunch," Erina sighed as she dangled a finger in front of her nephew, who was laying on a play mat. "Hurry up, will you? He's going to get restless if he isn't fed soon."

Souma clicked his tongue once he found the elusive baby formula tin in the baby bag. "Who even puts their kids on strict schedules?"

"Responsible parents, of course." Erina responded from his living room. Although small and fairly modest, Souma's apartment would be their so called base of operations while they babysat, much to his reluctance. Lucky for him, Erina was going to stay over with him.

Souma walked into the room with a heated bottle and set it in front of the baby.

"Well, eat up Yuu." Nothing happened, of course, except for the uninterested stare being sent his way by the infant. It seemed he had inherited most of his personality from his dad. Erina donned the same bored look.

"How old do you think he is?" She asked expectantly.

He looked back and forth between them. In retrospect, maybe having a stray cat of a dad had some repercussions on his paternal instincts- if he had any.

"Just- Just hand me the bottle." The blonde ordered, feeling defeated. Soon she was quietly feeding the content baby. Afterwards, he was out like a light in her arms. The room fell quiet as Souma observed her once more, noting the almost indistinguishable hint of tender care in her gaze. Had it not been for the soft, black tuft on top of Yuu's small head, he could've sworn Erina was the mother. And it was with a sense of amusement that he realized he would most likely be the dad in this silly, made-up family.

As calm and placid of a baby Yuu proved to be, his parents sure had him engaged in activities around the clock. At one, he was to be fed, followed by a nap for about an hour until he woke up needing his diaper changed (Souma and Erina ultimately decided on taking turns for this). Afterwards, he could toddle around in the playpen he came with. Then at around three, he was to watch one of those educational programs aimed at young kids. Again, this was to go on until he fell asleep. Before the evening made everything dark out, he was to be taken for a stroll for some fresh air. Once they returned, he would likely fall back asleep and wake up hungry. This was to go on for the rest of his stay.

Souma plopped down onto the couch when they returned from their first of three outings. "Y'know, for all the time he spends sleeping, he sure is a lot of trouble." He told Erina when she returned from putting him to sleep.

"I wouldn't say trouble... but I can agree on that." She let out a yawn and settled in the spot next to the redhead. He leaned in on her, nudging at her shoulder so she would look at him.

"I never would've though you would do so well with kids. Alice's stories of your childhood really made you sound like a brat- Ow!" He received a flick on the head for that, but she didn't bother to move him.

"We grew up together, so of course we got on each others nerves." She explained. "Besides, this isn't the first time she asked me to take care of Yuu. Of course, it was usually only for an hour or two when I had the time."

Souma hummed at hearing that. "It's no wonder you look like an actual mom."

"Tch. As if I could afford being a parent right now." She countered, turning away from him. He raised a brow in question. "Besides, I don't think you're father-material just yet." Souma's curious expression turned into that of flattery. He burrowed his face into the nape of her neck, tickling her with his hair.

"Guess not. Suppose we still gotta tie the knot first." He said, voice muffled. The thought made Erina smile, unintentionally making her thoughts steer towards scenes of flowers, decorated tables and dancing. Though they were more like memories of an event that had yet to happen, it didn't stop the butterflies in her stomach.

"Eventually." She conceded, taking his free hand. "For now let's just hope Yuu doesn't wake us up later at some ungodly hour."

Souma cringed at the thought, "Knowing you though, you're gonna force me out of bed to take care of him."

"Hmm. You're not wrong." She said with a smirk.

Even though it wasn't for long, Souma warmed up to the little boy. Erina picked up on the subtle changes in his demeanor: the way he would glance at Yuu from the table during meals, how he was usually the first to tend to him if hew was upset, even during those times they sat together in front of the TV to watch Yuu's favorite show. So when there was a knock at the door, Erina had to gently pry her nephew from Souma's hold.

"Time to say your goodbyes." She warned as her hand made contact with the door knob. She let in Alice, though Ryou was nowhere to be found. The silver haired Nakiri greeted her cousin as Yuu was passed onto her. Souma walked up to her with the baby bag in tow. He leaned down to eye-level with his new favorite kid and looked at him with a wistful expression.

"Guess it's time for you to go, buddy. It was nice knowing you." Yuu could only look back at him with blank eyes.

Alice snickered and turned to Erina, "I don't suppose you want to keep him for a while longer?"

"If we did, there would probably be a slim chance of seeing your son ever again," contemplated the blonde. "But if you ever need someone to watch over him for a few hours, make sure to get in touch with Souma first. I'm sure he'd jump at the chance."

"I'll keep that in mind, then." Alice nodded thoughtfully. "Well, it's time to go. Yuu, say goodbye to your Aunt Erina." She took his small pudgy hand and waved it at her.

"What about his Uncle Souma, huh? We had loads of fun together!" The redhead interjected.

"Uncle? Not until you propose to Erina, you aren't." Alice objected, sticking her tongue out at him. Souma rubbed his neck and stubbornly looked away.

"Whatever. I'll take this down to your car." He grumbled, leaving the apartment.

Alice took the opportunity to gingerly lean in closer to Erina. "Well? Think he's finally going to crack?"

Erina pulled at the hem of her top, face warm. "We've been hinting at it lately..."

"It's about time! It took long enough for you two to finally confess, and I don't want to wait double the time to hear about your engagement!" The other woman asserted happily.

"Alice, please! We'll get to that once we know we're both ready."

"Just call me when he does so we can all celebrate!"

"Celebrate what?" In came Souma, wondering what the two girls were in the middle of. Alice took this has her cue to leave.

"Oh, nothing. I'll see you two another time. And Souma, stop being a coward and go for it!"

He tilted his head, "Go for what?" But the door already shut behind her. He turned to Erina for answers, but seeing as she was glancing around at anything but him, he decided it was best not to ask.

Girls could still be so confusing to him sometimes.

END

A/N: Never write while binge watching movies, you guys. It slows down the whole process and you'll never get much done!

A big thank you to everyone who reviewed, and especially to those who shared their ideas! This one goes out to user soul puker(rad name, by the way), who suggested this. This is part one of a two-shot that will tie in with another prompt someone suggested, so be on the lookout for that soon!

As usual, feel free to leave reviews and the like! I'm so glad I've received positive feedback for these oneshots so far, but I'd really love to hear more from those who followed or favorited! See you all again in the next one!