"Oh come on Tyson! How much hard can it be? Let me do it! Pleeease!"
Tyson cocked an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder, eyeing the pink haired woman who stood behind him with a pleading look.
"Mariah-"
"Come on, I can handle it!" Mariah interrupted determinedly. "They're so super cute! And I know how to keep them entertained!"
"It's not that easy, Mariah," Tyson sighed. "They're very young. They're moodier than Hilary…uh, forget I said anything."
"You have to let me!" Mariah continued, completely unfazed by Tyson's nearly catastrophic comment. "I'm the only super fun aunt they have got! Ray's always over-loaded since the restro's got two-fold, and I have all the free time with me! So lemme do it!"
Tyson groaned and slowly shook his head. "You're not gonna quit begging until I say yes, are you?"
"That's right!" Mariah confirmed before squinting. "Begging's a strong word though…"
"Alright," Tyson sighed, finally showing Mariah an impish smirk. "You can babysit them."
"Yay!" Mariah cheered, jumping up and down.
At this, Tyson chuckled and shook his head. Mariah may have been married now, but she still maintained the same personality she'd had as a child: cheerful, catty, energetic, and kind hearted.
"But it's going to be a little bit of a challenge," Tyson reminded Mariah. "Harry's hitting two, and Tyra, well, she's always curious. She's gonna hit you with as much as questions as she can. They'll always want your attention so you have to keep them entertained. So you can't take your eyes off them."
"Well, look no further, because I'm super entertaining!" Mariah chirped. "Just trust me, Tyson! The kids will be having the most fun they've ever had…well…ever!"
"Unless we differ on the definition of fun," Tyson muttered, rubbing the back of his head.
"What do you mean we're going out for dinner? I didn't get a babysitter for the kids."
"No, but I did."
Hilary turned around and gave Tyson an incredulous look. "Who did you find to babysit on such short notice?"
"Uh…Mrha."
Hilary rolled her eyes and marched over to Tyson, who had replied with his mouth buried in his hand. Gently yanking his head up, causing Tyson to grunt, Hilary smirked and hummed, "try again."
"Right," Tyson mumbled, closing his eyes. "Mariah."
Hilary's expression remained static. "Excuse me?"
"I got Mariah to babysit the siblings," Tyson reiterated.
Hilary blinked and then bit her lower lip. "I am not sure if that's such a good idea…"
"I don't know," Tyson admitted. "But she wouldn't stop begging me, Hil! She's really excited about it."
"Tyson, you can't just trust our kids with someone who begs you," Hilary scolded, before murmuring, "I know Mariah's sweet. But then she gets all excited, and it goes into her overzeal, and from there…"
"Yeah, but Hil. She's alone the whole day. The White Tigers are back in China and Ray's gotta keep the restaurant running. You remember those days. You had Gramps. She's got nobody." Tyson assured before pulling his shoulders back. "Let's just give her a try…"
Hating every moment when she was bested by Tyson's logic, she sighed. "Well, Tyra gels well with Mariah," she mused, "But Harry's gonna be a handful. I'm afraid he's gonna get her cracking…"
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Tyson sighed. "I already gave her my word. And besides," he beamed, "This could be a learning moment for her! Kids are a lot of responsibility. And she'll be learning the hard way…"
Hilary giggled just once and sat down on Tyson's lap, surprising the young man. "Have you completely learned it?"
Tyson's face flashed red at the comment. "H-hey! I'm plenty responsible! I'm the World Champion, I've got tons of cups, and I've got two kids! I know all about responsibility!"
"I was just teasing you, baby," Hilary laughed, leaning forward and quickly kissing Tyson's lips. "You've grown up a lot since we first met. I'm very proud of you."
"Thanks," Tyson chuckled, his blush only intensifying. "You've grown up a lot too! And…in more way than one."
Hilary rolled her eyes and lifted Tyson's head up from beneath his chin with her fingers, still smirking at the man. "I'm up here, Mr. World Champion."
"Ah! You're both so cute!"
Harry and Tyra stared up at the pink-colored woman with blank expressions. They didn't seem excited, but they didn't seem upset either. If anything, they just seemed to be uncaring, and at most, confused. With Harry meeting her for the first time, the little boy held tightly to his sister's dress.
"I don't know how your mommy and daddy even stand it!" Mariah giggled. "I would just let you two get away with everything!"
"Trust me, if you see some of their antics, you'll realize that they're not so cute."
Mariah looked up towards the stairs and found Hilary standing on the middle step, her arms crossed while an impish smirk played on her lips.
"Hi, Hilary!" Mariah giggled. "But come on! I can't imagine these two making any trouble!"
"Oh, believe me, they do," Hilary sighed. "And yes, they are extremely adorable. I'm glad other people see it! I'm their mother, so of course I think they're the cutest things to have ever existed. I thought they were the cutest things from the second they were born! But trust me, as they grow up, the cuteness goes down…"
"Mommy, you al(are) olfer(older) than uf," Tyra tilted her head innocently, "Al you nof cute?"
Mariah playfully gasped, breaking into chuckles.
"See?'' Hilary slumped her shoulders.
"You're definitely the cutest babies I've ever seen!" Mariah addressed the siblings, the boy who was still busy staring at her.
"We no baby," Harry whined, throwing in a pout for good measure.
"Aw, even your voice is cute!" Mariah squealed.
"Mariah, try not to let their cuteness blind you," Hilary sighed, walking all the way down their stairs. "Remember, once Tyson and I leave, they'll drop the act. If they do it, you can't just let it slide. You've got to take care of it."
"Right!" Mariah cheered. "But…how do I do that?"
Hilary laughed just once and rubbed her temple. "You're going to have to be a little bit stern. You know, tell them not to do something, maybe put them in a time out if it's something especially bad…"
"That's no problem at all!" Mariah declared.
Hilary's smirk only grew as she slowly shook her head. "Even though you just said before you'd let them get away with everything?"
"Uh…" Mariah stammered and blushed, nervously laughing as she rubbed the back of her head. "I guess I was just kidding! Yeah, I was! Promise!"
While Mariah was trying to overcome being flustered, Harry shakily pulled himself up to his feet and toddled over towards Hilary, gently hugging the woman's leg.
"Aw, what is it, baby?" Hilary crooned, picking up the little boy.
"Sert!" Harry chirped.
"Ah yes, of course that's what you want!" Hilary giggled.
"What does that mean?" Mariah asked Hilary.
"That's his way of saying 'dessert,'" Hilary replied. "They already had dinner, so now he wants a little treat!"
"Is he allowed to have one?"
"Of course!"
At this, Mariah's eyes lit up. "I could give Harry and Tyra dessert! If…that's okay with you."
Hilary smiled at Mariah's sudden coyness. "Definitely! I think that's a perfect first activity for you to do with them. Once Tyson and I leave, you should bring them into the kitchen and find them each a little treat."
"Sounds great!" Mariah giggled.
During this whole exchange, Harry stared at Mariah over his shoulder, carefully examining the young woman. Hilary caught onto this soon enough, however, and found it to be rather sweet.
"Harry, how about you go to Mariah?" Hilary asked kindly. "Would you like that?"
The little boy fussed inaudibly, much to Mariah's bewilderment. Hilary wasn't surprised, but she wasn't deterred either.
"He's a little bit shy," Hilary explained to Mariah. "But he'll open up soon enough. It'll help if you hold him."
Mariah let out a shriek and jumped up and down a few times before finally relaxing. "Yes! I would love to hold him!"
Hilary handed Harry off to Mariah, earning a good, long whine from the toddler. Mariah, however, was not discouraged by such a thing, and instead smiled at the moody child.
"Hi, Harry!" Mariah greeted. "You sure are handsome!"
This was the trick to calming the toddler down. He looked up at Mariah and grinned, all of his tiny white baby teeth put on display.
"Hey, that sure cheered him up!" Mariah giggled. "You just like to be complimented, huh? I've known your daddy for a really long time, and I bet he just spoils you and your sister!"
"Yeah! Daddy lowes uf(us)!" Tyra chirped, throwing a hand in the air.
"You can believe that!"
Tyson chuckled at Mariah's shocked face as he came trouncing down the stairs, an amused sparkle twinkling in his eyes.
Tyson boasted. "I really do spoil them. It's bad."
"I've told him a million times to stop, but of course he doesn't listen," Hilary sighed, playfully pulling at her husband's cheek.
"Ouch!" Tyson whined. "Come on, Hilary, let go!"
"Why?" Hilary teased. "Am I embarrassing you?"
"Yeah, a little! You're also pinching my cheek a little too tight…ow."
"Oh, sorry!" Hilary gasped, letting go of Tyson's face. "Here, I'll make it better."
She leaned up and kissed Tyson on the cheek, causing Tyra to cover her eyes and Mariah to snicker. Tyson, on the other hand, felt the warmth move from just his cheek to all over his face, and not in a pleasant way.
"Hilary…"
"Mmhm?"
"You're embarrassing me even worse than before."
Hilary turned and saw Tyra's covered face, and Mariah's obvious attempts to try and hide her laughter. "Oh. I'm sorry!"
"Ma and Da do loch!" Harry informed the Beyblader holding her, and that failed to suppress her laughter.
"I think he just said, "Mommy and Daddy do it a lot!" Mariah chortled.
"I think we should leave now before you make it any worse," Tyson muttered, grabbing his wife's hand.
"Hey!" Hilary cried.
"Don't worry about the kids, you guys!" Mariah trilled as Tyson dragged Hilary towards the door. "We're going to have lots of fun!"
"Just take care of them and keep them out of trouble," Tyson sighed, opening the door and stepping out. Before he left completely, however, Tyson turned back around and faced Mariah, causing the white tiger member to huff.
"What now?!"
"Don't let them take advantage of you, Mariah," Tyson sighed, showing the girl a sympathetic smile. "I know it sounds silly for a pair of kids, but they're very hard to resist. Just don't give them too many treats, make sure they clean up their toys, and get them to bed on time. Don't let them fight you on it!"
"Tyson, quit treating me like a little kid!" Mariah whined. "I know what I'm doing!"
"Okay, okay!" Tyson breathed, holding up his hands defeatedly before closing the door behind him and effectively leaving Mariah alone with the two.
"Done?" Tyra squeaked; her eyes still covered.
"Yeah, Mommy and Daddy are done being gross," Mariah giggled. "You can uncover your eyes now, cutie pie!"
Tyra lowered her hands and blinked before glancing back up at Mariah standing in front of her, holding her brother.
"Lafy?" the baby whined, tugging blouse.
"Harry, you silly, you know my name!" Mariah giggled. "It's Mariah, remember?"
"Want –sert," Harry complained, completely ignoring Mariah.
"I want deffert too!" Tyra joined.
"Oh, yeah, dessert!" Mariah breathed. "Come on, you two! Let's get something tasty to eat!"
Tyra ran ahead of Mariah, while the woman carried Harry in her arms. As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, Tyra was already busy trying to pull herself up into her chair, but with little success.
"Be careful there, baby girl!" Mariah warned. "We don't want the chair to fall down on you! I'll help out in just a second, okay?"
She put Harry down in his sky blue booster seat and strapped the little boy in before moving onto Tyra, who had pretty much ignored her last waning and was still trying to climb into the seat on her own.
"Hold up, little Hil!" Mariah laughed, bending down and lifting up the girl as she laughed. "Whee! Up we go!"
Just like Harry before his sister, Mariah managed to strap Tyra into her pink booster seat without a fight. Both children were now giggling and playing with one another, reaching out and hitting each other's hands repeatedly.
"What do you guys want to have for dessert?" Mariah asked sweetly.
"Coochie (cookie)!" Tyra squealed.
"I cweam!" Harry yelped.
"Perfect!" Mariah trilled. "I can do both of those no problem!"
She placed three cookies on a plate for Tyra, and scooped some vanilla ice cream into a bowl for Harry, covering it with rainbow sprinkles.
"Here you two go!" Mariah announced, placing each dessert in front of its respective child. "Hope it's yummy!"
Neither toddler was quick to dig in, however. Instead, they chose to glance over at one another's dessert, and before long, they were both pouting, much to Mariah's concern.
"What's wrong?" Mariah murmured. "I thought that's what you both wanted!"
"I wan I- cweam too," Tyra whined, pointing at Harry's bowl.
"I wan cookie!" Harry wailed, pointing at Tyra's plate.
"Oh, you guys want both," Mariah muttered. "But…your mommy told me you can both only have one treat each!"
Harry and Tyra both looked up at Mariah, their lower lips sticking out and their eyes wide. For a pair of children who had fairly different faces, Mariah couldn't help but to notice how similar their pouts were. They were both so sad, and so cute…
"Oh, I can't resist," Mariah groaned, turning back towards the counter. "Okay! One more ice cream and cookies coming right up!"
With her back turned towards them, Harry and Tyra's pouts quickly dissolved, and they instead smiled victoriously at one another.
"Vroom! Vroom! Look at your car go, Harry!"
The little boy giggled as Mariah wheeled the tiny toy towards him. As it "drove" past him, Harry squealed and shouted, "beep beep!"
"Yeah, that's the sound a car makes!" Mariah giggled. "You sure are smart, little guy!"
Harry smiled and took the car from Mariah, glancing up at the teen afterwards to see what she would do about it. All she did, however, was let out a high-pitched laugh, which in turn caused Harry to laugh himself.
"You're funny, too!" Mariah giggled. "I can definitely tell you take after your daddy!"
"Beep beep!" Harry repeated, holding up the car.
"Hug!"
Mariah shrieked out of surprise as Tyra threw herself at her, a stuffed bear held in her hand.
"You want a hug?" Mariah giggled, pulling the toddler into her lap.
"No, Bobby!" Tyra laughed, holding up the stuffed toy.
"Oh, Bobby wants a hug," Mariah breathed, smiling at the toddler. "Well, I can give him a hug!" She took the plush from Tyra and gave it a big hug, causing Tyra's face to light up.
"Yay!" Tyra cheered.
"Yay!" Mariah repeated, holding the toy up in the air. As she handed the bear back to Tyra, she took a look around the room, cautiously biting her lower lip. "Boy…we sure did make a mess in here!"
Indeed, the siblings' toys were laid out all over the place. On the floor, on the couch, in almost every visible space. There were toy cars, plushes, coloring books and crayons…it looked like a toy box had exploded inside of the living room.
"And it's almost bedtime, too," Mariah informed the siblings. "Do you think we should start cleaning up the toys in here?"
"No!" Tyra pouted, her hands stationed on her waist.
"No!" Harry studied his sister for a minute and repeated her actions.
"I'm sure it won't take long!" Mariah prodded, reaching over and picking up a nearby plush penguin. "See? Here, Tyra. Why don't you put your Mr. Popsicle, the penguin away?"
The little girl put down her bear and instead took the penguin from Mariah, staring at the toy for a few moments before tossing it away.
"Or not…" Mariah sighed.
"Aunfy! Look!"
"Yeah, Mr. Ears is really good at jumping over the stick!"
Tyra giggled as she waved her hare plush continuously, making it jump over the stick she'd been holding out for it. It'd been going back and forth like that for a while, but so far, Tyra hadn't gotten sick of it. Harry was watching too, although he was ready to play the next game with his toy action figure, Mr. Regal Bird.
The trio was so busy playing, in fact, that they failed to hear the door open, or Tyson and Hilary walking in immediately afterwards.
"Mariah?!"
The girl whipped around and gasped. Tyson's right hand was holding onto Hilary's left, but his free hand was now settled on his hip, and his eyes narrowed.
Oh no! Mariah wailed internally. I totally lost track of time!
"Uh…h-hi!" Mariah greeted nervously, trying to ignore her inner thoughts. "How was your dinner?"
"Good," Hilary replied softly. "Mariah…how come the kids aren't in bed?"
"Oh, well, they wanted to play, and I guess we just lost track of time," Mariah admitted sheepishly.
"And you let them play before all of their other toys were put away?" Tyson asked, looking around the messy room.
"I did ask them to clean up!" Mariah defended herself. "But they didn't want to."
"Mariah, it doesn't matter if they want to or not," Tyson groaned. "You're supposed to make sure they do it!"
"I can't help it that they're so cute!" Mariah cried. "They just look at you with their big, sparkly eyes, and their adorable smiles with all of their tiny baby teeth, and I couldn't force them to do anything!"
Tyson sighed and shook his head. "That's what we warned you against…"
"Well, at least the siblings are happy!" Hilary crooned, kneeling down to be at eye level with her children as they came running up to her. "Right, sweethearts? You had fun with Mariah?"
"She the besf!" Tyra giggled.
"I wike Mariah!" Harry added.
At this, Mariah's face lit up. "Ah! They like me! They had fun!"
Tyson's stern expression melted as soon as he saw how excited Mariah was. After all, he couldn't exactly be mad at the chivalrous woman. She wasn't perfect…and neither was he. Nobody was, in fact. All she'd wanted to do was have fun with the siblings, and she'd certainly accomplished that. They were happy, and she was too.
As Mariah continued to jump up and down, Tyson approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder, instantly stopping the girl and causing her to look worried all over again.
"Tyson…" she murmured, sounding quite regretful.
"Good job, Mariah," Tyson complimented.
"Huh?" Mariah breathed, her taffy pink eyes widening.
"My children sure are happy!" Tyson chuckled. "It sounds like they had a great time with you!"
"Oh…well, I hope so!" Mariah giggled.
"Not bad for your first-time babysitting," Tyson quipped, causing Mariah to blush.
"So…you'd let me babysit them again?" Mariah asked hopefully, her eyes shining.
"Yeah!" Tyson replied. "But…let's let them get a little bit older first. Maybe then they won't be so irresistible."
"I don't know about that…" Mariah murmured, a smirk playing at her lips. "I think they're gonna be really cute for a really long time!"
