Hello :P It is Wednesday and I am back with a new chapter. As you probably know and can tell, at the moment I am uploading of a lot of a new character to Eli. I am essentially introducing him and his story and his relationships as well. But being Jordan (Misty's fathers) cousin, here is a story that focuses on his relationship with that particular man. It's a light hearted one really that takes place after Josie passes away and not too long after Eli is first properly introduced to the group. I hope you enjoy :3
Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned!
Both the lavender haired man and the orange haired woman tried not to smirk at the two other adults peering up at them from floor level, their eager expressions amusingly resembling the pairs other children at toddler age. I shared that same smirk with the adults as I sat down with the smiling ones but before I could properly chuckle, the ex-rocketeer had enough time to give his girlfriend an amused side eye glance before he finally spoke, addressing the two men kneeling on the floor.
"Are you sure you're well equipped for doing this for the both of us today? I mean… Only one of us really has to go." James questioned the yellow haired male and the deep violet haired male on the floor before he jiggled his orange haired toddler daughter that he was holding to his hip to add more clarification to his words. But he continued anyway. "It's really no problem."
Jordan and Eli on the floor didn't look at one and other but I could tell from being closest to them that their shoulders almost brushed together. And while Lynne nonchalantly smiled and rocked her other child with James in the crook of her arm, it was the yellow haired of the two male's to take action.
Clumsily, Jordan sat further up so his spine was straighter as he kneeled and his broad chest puffed further out. But despite his manly and rather large appearance, he grinned kindly at the couple standing above him and his eyelashes danced with sincerity.
"It's no problem for us." Jordan insisted and after he could feel his cousin politely nodding his head from the side of him, he decided to properly get to his feet. Lynne softened all the more at the gurgling noises little Johnny in her arms was making as well as the man in front of her. Jordan tilted his head a little bit and directed his words more towards James since he was the one having reservations. "C'mon, you guys deserve a bit of fun. And Eli and I are perfectly happy to watch the little guy."
I shared some common ground with the deep violet haired male on the floor in that moment as both of our eyes wandered to the baby boy that was being switched from being in the crook of Lynne's arm to being jiggled on her hip in a similar fashion that Jorgie was being swayed on James'.
Like the yellow haired male and the deep violet haired before me, Eli and I didn't share a proper look but it was clear that we were thinking the same things. Johnny Jinn wasn't exactly a "little guy". At three months old he was quite a round and solid thing but adorable all the same. And addition to his largeness and adorableness, he was a very placid baby. So to tell you the truth, if you had to be stuck babysitting anyone then you probably would have liked it to be Johnny!
But Jordan and Eli were not stuck with babysitting duty. They wanted to do it. Eli was a little more casual about the whole affair but he was quick to join in anything that his older cousin got stuck into. And he also understood more of the situation, much like I did.
So for that reason, a few moments after seeing his yellow haired cousin stand up and address the couple in front of them, after running a hand over the shorter part of his hair, Eli joined him and showed off a genuine smile.
The deep violet haired male didn't say words but he let his smile and the intentional certainty in his distinctive eyes to do the talking. It was evident that the couple caught on to this purposeful action on Eli's part because after one half of the couple visibly melted and smiled back (and it wasn't James), the lavender haired male's own eyes darted between the men in front of him and he finally relented.
I smiled while James let out a bit of a chuckle and ran a hand through his hair, still holding Jorgie close to his side. But he was visibly relaxing with the idea and Lynne reaching to squeeze his shoulder gently with her spare hand only reassured him that she felt that way as well. So it was decided.
"Okay, well we greatly appreciate it." James made sure to say in a serious yet genuine manner as he looked between the two male relatives and after the orange haired toddler on his hip shuffled her body closer to his and hugged him tighter around his neck, he addressed the other words that Jordan had said. I watched as the lavender haired male's face scrunched up with playfulness. I was glad that he still had humour during that difficult time in his life. "To be honest, a toddler play date isn't exactly the height of adventure. But I do love going anywhere with my girls."
And after the ex-rocketeer said these words, he absentmindedly showed the gravity of how much he meant them by nuzzling his nose against the cheek of Jorgie before leaning closer to Lynne and lightly touching the end of her nose with his. I couldn't help but notice how Eli took that particular moment to sit back down all over again and further back! Jordan just grinned happily, folding both of his arms over his chest and hooking his thumbs out so that they were visible.
However, his muscular arms didn't remain crossed over his broad chest for long. They soon untucked themselves and then his fingers wriggled playfully. He tilted his head as he gestured to the couple following James' words in particular.
"I know you do. Now hand your boy over." The yellow haired male directed these words towards the lavender haired male even though it was his wife who was holding the little boy. Lynne laughed at this fact and after Jordan heard his only love's giggles, his cheeky gaze moved towards her instead.
Much like Eli had done moments before, James stepped back at that point but it was so Lynne could do the honours and that couple could have a moment of affection if they wanted to. And I watched as the deep violet haired male observed this entire scene. I couldn't for the life of me gather what he thought about his cousin's wife having the lavender haired male for a boyfriend also!
"Here's the little boy, then. Our little star boy." The orange haired woman doted on her and James' baby boy in her hold for a couple more seconds by stroking his cheek lovingly but then she handed Johnny over to Jordan. And after the lavender haired baby boy was in the much bigger male's strong but tender hold, Lynne also reached out to stroke his cheek too. Jordan's expression positively lit up at this. "Thank you for doing this, Jordan. You too, Eli."
The orange haired woman then thanked the yellow haired male all the more by planting a kiss on the lips of her husband and then just holding a hand of gratitude out towards the deep violet haired male. In return, Eli showed off a bit of an awkward fist pumping and lip biting action but it was well-meaned nevertheless!
Then it was the lavender haired male's turn to show gratitude towards his yellow haired male best friend. With little Jorgie still clinging close to him, James merely touched his son on his cheek just once before giving Jordan a proper hug – as well as a peck on the cheek.
I definitely knew that I wasn't imagining it when I saw Eli's sunken yet wide eyes widen even further at this gesture. But he didn't comment. His hands moved to his lap. He listened to the words that James went on to say to Jordan.
"Thank you once again. You're a good boy. And you can phone us for any reason at all." The lavender haired male spoke to the yellow haired one as the two male's continued embracing and after Jordan airily nodded his head in the slimmer male's hold, James pulled away once again and pressed a second kiss to his cheek.
Eli didn't get a chance to widen his eyes at the second kiss, however. The lavender haired male turned to him with Jorgie still on his hip and showing that he saw the deep violet haired rather uncomfortably reacted to Lynne holding a hand up to him, he decided to properly hold a hand out to Jordan's cousin.
I was a little bit surprised from the way that he got up immediately and rose to his full height! Not that it was a great one. He came up to just below the base of James' neck but he accepted the handshake nevertheless. In fact, he accepted it rather vigorously. He held onto the lavender haired male's hand and shook it for barely one second before he slammed his other hand against the top of James'.
Seeing the way that the ex-rocketeer reacted to this, I could tell that it was common for the deep violet haired male to do this but it still wasn't exactly expected! But James took it in his stride well enough and didn't make too much of a point of it.
After Jorgie looked around as she wondered where the clapping noise came from and then fixed her eyes towards her younger brother in Jordan's hold, James flashed Eli a bit of a graceful smirk and he scrunched his nose up a touch. His head tilted as he referred to Eli's habitual action.
"I'm glad such a strong man like you will be taking care of my son." He uttered a little bit sarcastically and dryly but charmingly all the same and as the two male's hands were still no longer touching, he reached to touch Eli's arm with gratitude also.
And then after this was said and done, the orange haired toddler girl decided that for once she didn't want to look at her new baby brother for much longer and she stared at Eli as he remained standing. Jorgie stared at him for a good few seconds while Lynne and Jordan fussed Johnny in the yellow haired male's hold, and then she held her arms out towards the deep violet haired male, babbling something incomprehensible towards him.
The lavender haired male held her all the more lovingly and smiled at her as if he knew exactly what she was talking about. And Eli surprised me by responding well to this. He held out his hand as Jorgie reached out to him and as he allowed the toddler girl to hold onto his thumb while on the hip of her father, the deep violet haired male spoke polite towards to her. He even patted her on the top of her head.
"I'll see you later, little madam. You're going to have so much fun at your little friend's house." Eli spoke to Jorgie in a kind enough way but for some reason it still made me smirk a little bit so I decided to hide it by moving over to the sofa in Jordan and Lynne's annexe and jumping up onto it.
But as I turned back with a still lingering snicker on my face, it was evident that Jorgie didn't think that his words were uncomfortable at all. She clearly enjoyed them very much from the way that she used her own spare hand that wasn't clinging onto Eli's to pat the top of his head! I caught the lavender haired male's eye at that moment and was free to show off my smirk as he did as well.
The orange haired toddler patted the top of Eli's head a good few times and it was clear that she would have carried on if James hadn't looked at his watch and decided that he, Lynne and Jorgie had better get going.
So after making sure that little Johnny was content in Jordan's hold (he was, he was as content as ever) and saying goodbye to the yellow haired male and the deep violet haired one all over again, the little Morgan-Williams family headed off to take Jorgie on her playdate.
I observed the way that Jordan had a bit of a head shake to show off and a smirk also after the door was finally shut behind them and I couldn't put my finger on why he had done that. It could be a great many possible reasons. I shrugged all of them off at the same time that Jordan shrugged absentmindedly to himself and continued holding Johnny in his strong arms, coming to hover by Eli who had begun to make himself comfy in front of the sofa rather than next to me on it.
I wasn't offended. I just sat down and crossed my paws over each other. It wasn't long before Jordan broke the short silence and he said something that perhaps made his head shaking a little clearer.
"I hope Mr Johnny Jinn has fun with us today. He might enjoy being doted on by actual men rather than his brothers." Jordan commented airily for the situation that had befallen the Morgan family and he showed what kind of relationship he had with the baby boy by holding him in one hand effortlessly and tickling his belly with the other.
The lavender haired baby boy promptly erupted into carefree giggles. Eli, however, had a frown taking over his face that I could sense from sitting behind him. He thought about what Jordan's words could have meant and then decided he knew exactly what they were about. He continued frowning as he ran both of his hands over the sides of his hair.
"Are you saying that Justin isn't a proper man? Why do you say that? What makes you think that?" the deep violet haired male asked a lot of questions which contrasted his level tone of voice and I understood that he picked the deep purple haired eldest Morgan son seeing as he had been taking care of his "Jinn" the most.
It was evident from the way that the yellow haired male's carefree expression changed as he continued holding the baby boy that he had had simply no idea that his words were offending his cousin. In addition to this, he hadn't really meant anything condescending at all. He clarified this by speaking - that innocently confused expression on his face much like one that could be associated with my own best friend.
"I just meant that Justin isn't a father. Neither is the other of James' boys. Johnny Jinn might benefit from a bit more mature men today." Jordan explained himself and then he showed off a shrug. Following that, his expression melted to being a bit more carefree all over again. He knew that he meant no harm by his words and that was enough for him.
It was shown to be enough for Eli from the way that he soon enough nodded his head. But then when the yellow haired male was no longer looking at him and he was pinching both of Johnny's cheeks in the one hand, the deep violet haired male widened his unusual eyes in such a way that made me smirk. He evidently thought that his cousin wasn't exactly mature much of the time!
But then again, James could be mischievous and playful also. As could Justin and all of the other Morgan boys. Besides, Johnny Jinn seemed to be doing well no matter whose care he was in in whatever particular moment.
But there was a little bit of a deeper truth to Jordan's words. The lavender haired baby boy didn't get as much time with his lavender haired father as was best since the unfortunate passing of Josie. That was what Jordan meant most of all.
My thoughts of that whole situation was interrupted by the yellow haired male looking up from playing airily with Johnny Jinn and seeing Eli's eyes still widening towards him. Jordan didn't realise that it was about him hinting that he was mature. The yellow haired male believed that his cousin wanted something else. He got it entirely wrong and held the lavender haired baby a little nearer towards Eli, gesturing to him.
"You want a cuddle?" Jordan questioned Eli simply and the possibility of the deep violet haired male plainly saying "no thank you" crossed my mind! It was true that he wasn't exactly the most comfortable around babies at all sometimes – people in general also.
However, my daydreams were stood corrected as I curled up on the sofa and Eli just shrugged casually and murmured something unrecognisable but he did hold his hands out towards Johnny Jinn and Jordan, hinting that it wasn't going to be the worst thing in the world. Even so, before the yellow haired male placed the baby in his cousin's hold properly, Eli blurted out.
"Do I have to be super delicate? I'm not going to hurt him, am I?" the deep violet haired male's eyes widened with concern and I had to bite the inside of my cheeks and keep my thoughts to myself as I thought that James and Lynne's three month old baby was probably sturdier than Eli himself!
The yellow haired male wasn't so bothered with filtering out his own thoughts. He laughed openly at Eli's qualms but shook his head, holding onto Johnny Jinn a couple of seconds longer before finally handing him over to his own cousin.
"He's solid. You don't have to worry about anything when it comes to this one." Jordan reassured Eli and with that, baby Johnny Jinn was placed into the deep violet haired male's hold and the male from Unova had to adapt.
I had to admit that I was a little curious how Eli was going to get on with doting on a baby that young and I stopped being curled up on the sofa and craned my neck to observe properly. But I was pleasantly surprised by the way that Jordan's cousin took to it. It was true that he looked like he was holding a bomb at first and he looked as though he was going to drop him at any second.
But then I believed that it dawned on him that Johnny Jinn really was quite solid and sturdy for just three months old and he seemed to have quite a lot of cushioning underneath his star patterned baby grow. Eli continued holding him rather awkwardly and stiffly in the crook of his arm but he did begin to rock him ever so gently and then even rub his stomach a little bit. Jordan tried to hide his smile. He merely just stood there and watched, his arms folding back over his chest and his thumbs tucking out once again.
Neither of the two male's said anything for a good couple of minutes and I was just happy to watch. I felt very glad in that moment to have been around lots of good men when it came to babies. In fact, a lot of the ones that I knew seemed to do a big middle finger to the distant and uncertain male parent stereotype.
While both Jordan and Eli could be both of these things as people rather than parents, there was a lot of softness within. And that admirable quality shone through in everything that they did.
However, both the yellow haired male and I were almost led to think differently by what the deep violet haired male came out with next. Eli continued holding onto Johnny Jinn and as he rocked him and the baby boy gurgled up at him, his expression suddenly changed to a frown. The Unovan man looked to Jordan for answers.
"So… What's the point of all this?" he questioned rather blankly and with baby Johnny still in his arms. The lavender haired baby hiccupped in a well-timed way towards the question while Jordan deadpanned more than I had ever really seen before.
As a matter of fact, I could almost see a confused bead of sweat appearing on the side of Jordan's temple. He repeated; a huge air of uncertainty in his voice.
"What's the point of all this?" Jordan said his cousin's words back to him and after Eli simply nodded his head innocently and absentmindedly in response, the yellow haired male folded his arms over his chest even further. He frowned some more. "You mean… What's the point of a baby? Surely you're not asking me where they come from, Eli?"
It had been a bit of a strange interaction thus far but the way that Eli almost slid further onto the floor and dropped Johnny Jinn at that moment caused me to chuckle openly! I quickly had to slam my mouth shut when both male's latched their eyes onto me and they frowned. I pretended to lick my paw nonchalantly and let them get on with their own interaction.
The deep violet haired male was prompt to clarify his own words, a bit of a blush taking over his face and his top lip quivering awkwardly.
"No! I know that! I just wondered…" Eli was so caught up in making sure that Jordan understood that he had his ripe old age knew where little babies did indeed come from that he hadn't thought about how he was going to word his next sentence. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times and then after Johnny blew a bubble in his hold, he added. "What are we meant to be doing with him today? Getting him to laugh? Getting him to eat? Getting him to sleep?"
I could very much tell that the deep violet haired male didn't want to utter the words "change" or "bath" after the examples that he had put forth out of apprehension that these more complex tasks would come to fruition. And then I could also tell that Jordan understood where his younger cousin was coming from. The yellow haired male's eyes widened and his mouth hung open with realisation and then he ran a hand through his curtain-like locks.
"Well, we're looking after him until James and Lynne get back so we'll probably do all of those things, yeah." Jordan told Eli and after the darker of those men nodded his head; I could tell the way that even the yellow haired male knew not to add the words that they would probably have to do more than just those things. So instead of making his cousin all the more apprehensive, Jordan ran a hand over his own stomach and flicked his head towards the kitchen area. "You're right though, it'll be bottle time for him and then we'll have a better chance of getting him to nap. You could entertain him while I do that, right?"
Eli had only a chance to look up while continuously holding Johnny Jinn in the same position before Jordan turned on his heel to go into the kitchen area to make the lavender haired baby his bottle. The yellow haired male was still in sight but this spontaneity paired with the doubt of actually taking care of a baby – let alone make it laugh – made Eli feel very on the spot.
Nevertheless, he knew that he had to do his best.
"I guess…" Eli mumbled as he went about switching the three month old baby to being held right in front of his face and it made me laugh from the way that even though Jordan was a few metres away and he was pouring water into the kettle, he evidently could tell exactly what was going on.
The yellow haired male boomed across the annexe and luckily it didn't make the lavender haired male burst into tears!
"You don't need to be so apprehensive, really. If you have to make a baby laugh then Johnny is the best one to tackle! He smiles at pretty much everything. Unlike Jorgie at that age. She was such a tough crowd that only smiled for her daddy!" Jordan spoke breezily and he humorously reminisced on how he almost grew his hair long like the lavender haired male to produce more smiles from the orange haired girl.
I could tell that Eli wasn't really listening, though, despite the fact that he was smirking politely. He was far too busy holding Johnny Jinn up to his face and thinking about how he might make a little baby like that laugh. He stared at the lavender haired baby boy for quite some time – up until the kettle had almost boiled, in fact. But then inspiration struck him. It wasn't the most creative thing in the world but it seemed to come to Eli naturally enough when he started making funny faces over at Johnny Jinn.
And like I said, they weren't the most creative in the world! But they did the trick. After not much time at all and after a few expressions like a purposefully pushed out chin and bucked tooth appearance, Johnny Jinn's lip began to quirk upwards. And then after Eli paired his prominently toothy expression with a very bug eyed one, the three month old baby happily burst into proper giggles, kicking his legs.
I laughed and grinned along with the baby. I lifted my head up when I heard Jordan approaching and hovering next to the two male's with his hands on his hips, wanting to observe the commotion himself. Eli appeared to be on a roll as a well as in his own world as he hardly noticed his cousin there at all.
The deep violet haired male continued widening his eyes further and further, so much so that I wondered how he was doing it without them watering very much indeed. Jordan's booming jovial voice bought his cousin back to reality.
"Wow. Wow, you're doing a great job at making him laugh, Eli, but perhaps it'd be even better if you made some funny faces rather than your natural expressions?" Jordan managed to humour him in a dry way despite his hearty voice and it took the Unovan male a couple of seconds and asking the word "what?" before he understood exactly the joke that his cousin was making. He rolled his eyes and pressed his lips together. Jordan chuckled out loud at his own joke but then they died down and he leaned, putting his hands on Eli's shoulders as he questioned him with a smile. "Do you reckon he looks anything like Misty?"
I saw the way that Eli was taken a little aback upon hearing this and then I saw the way that his brain ticked as he realised that that possibility wasn't too far-fetched. Johnny Jinn and Misty did share the same mother, after all.
The deep violet haired male continued pressing his lips together but he tilted his head as he continued holding Johnny Jinn in front of him, giving it a proper think. He evidently took too much time as Jordan abandoned that possibility for going to tend to the kettle when it pinged. Even so, Eli answered. And he responded with such a shrug and a smile that it was hard to tell if he was being serious or not.
"I dunno. I think he looks a little like me." Eli uttered and after I blinked for a second and a half, it became clear to me that he was being humorous in response from the way that he increased the volume of his voice so that his cousin could hear him in the kitchen area. The deep violet haired male then smirked at his own words, reaching out to stroke Johnny lightly on the cheek.
But from the way that Jordan spun comically around on his heel yet shrugged and smiled all the same, made it clear that he thought that Eli was being serious. He replied with a continuous smile as he poured the boiling water into bowl before lowering the bottle containing formula into it.
"I guess I can see that. You do have super crazy eyes." Jordan said with another shrug but it was spoken kindly all the same. And to almost make one think that the lavender haired baby knew what was being dicussed between the two men, he hiccupped after that exchange and widened his own eyes.
Eli shrugged his own shoulders at Jordan's words and went back to making a bug-eyed funny face at Johnny Jinn before taking hold of his leg and shaking it playfully, uttering to the little baby boy and only the little baby boy.
"Look at him. He's acting like he doesn't have crazy wide eyes sometimes either." Eli murmured and I very much then softened at the way that the deep violet haired male stopped shaking the Morgan-Williams boy on the leg and he ran his fingers softly over his tufty locks instead. I smiled to myself and enjoyed watching what was going on.
However, before I could enjoy it any further or make any silent musings about whether he did that kind of thing with Misty and her sisters when they were of a similar age, Eli and I were on the same page all over again from the way that he glanced over at his cousin and thought of similar things as Jordan shook the baby boy's bottle absentmindedly to himself to make sure all the heat was the same throughout the liquid.
He wasn't so engaged in that particular activity that he didn't catch on to the fact that he was being observed. He looked up rather promptly and questioned Eli's antics with a simple yet telling eyebrow raise. And in response, Eli reacted in a similarly simple yet telling way. The deep violet haired male shrugged but he answered, stretching his legs out in front of him and placing Johnny down on them so he could gaze up at the ceiling.
"Nothing really… Just unusual to see you do all that. It's been a very long time since I've seen you being hands on with a baby of this age." Eli stated in a level voice yet with a nostalgic quality in his tones.
And despite the fact that Eli's words were telling enough and they probably made Jordan feel nostalgic in his own heart as well as a many other different things, all he did was respond in a simple way before finishing what he was doing and bringing the bottle back towards the three of us.
"Mmmm." He plainly murmured and continued shaking the bottle in his hands for something to do as much as anything. He went back to standing over Eli and in return, the deep violet haired male shrugged all over again and went back to looking down at the baby, not touching him that time. And during that quiet and non-interaction between the two males – even though Eli's words had not been mocking – Jordan responded to them in a way that seemed like he believed so, though he went about it playfully all the same. He gestured to his cousin's outfit, trying to one up him. "So what's that all about then? Do you really think that that's the best outfit for minding a little boy like Johnny? You look like that purple dinosaur that Jorgie watches."
Funnily enough, it was then and only then that I noticed the way that Eli was indeed wearing one of his suits and it occurred to me that neither James or Lynne mentioned that that could be problematic, despite making sure many times that the both of them were okay to babysit.
The deep violet haired male looked down at his own outfit also. He furrowed his brow as he didn't know the dinosaur that his plum coloured suit jacket and trousers and green under shirt looked like but then he raised his eyebrows instead. He looked at Jordan. He retorted in a nonchalant way.
"First impressions are important, that's all. And babies are no exception." Eli responded in a level tone but then to add humour and flair to his words, he stuck his nose in the air and made his head move in a bit of a flamboyant way! He hadn't intended to but he made little baby Johnny Jinn laugh when he observed this from lulling on his lap.
The yellow haired male looked down at Johnny. The deep violet haired male did too. I did as well. And then the much broader and taller male brushed aside the banter between them both and he continued, offering the bottle out to Eli like he had done with Johnny Jinn himself.
"Well… We'll see if Mr Johnny Jinn approves of your outfit or not judging by whether he spits up on you after this feed or not." Jordan said causally despite his playfully malicious words and I watched the way that Eli looked as though he felt a little bit sick at getting that same mess on from a baby! But then as he looked over at his cousin, he sensed the competitiveness within him and knew that he had to hold his own.
"Fine." Eli replied with much less flair than before but he took the bottle from Jordan nonetheless and placed it down on the floor while he at least knew to cradle Johnny in the crook of his arm for feeding time. And as this went on, Jordan proved to me that he was much less competiveness and relentless with Eli than Ash and Gary were when they were ten from the way that he soon smiled and sat down on the floor with his cousin.
As well as this, he edged a mug of chamomile tea that he had made for him closer to him on the floor, perhaps as a reward for making the lavender haired baby laugh or as a thanks for minding him right alongside him. Eli noticed and acknowledged this gesture with his own competiveness fading away and he grinned at the older male. He also didn't have too much stubbornness to question what was the best way to feed the little baby.
So after the deep violet haired male was educated properly by the yellow haired male, he got down to feeding Johnny Jinn in the crook of his arm. Showing why he was exactly the large size that he was, the lavender haired baby boy took to the bottle straight away and he guzzled it down! He made slurping and swallowing noises that made Eli chuckle and then the little baby held onto his suit jacket with a starfish hand at that made the Unovan male's eyelashes wordlessly flutter.
It was always such a peaceful time watching over a baby – well, when they were behaving like Johnny Jinn was, that is! I'd certainly had my fair share of hair raising experiences when it came to babysitting. But I had definitely had an awful lot of wonderful and calm ones also. And it was evident that both the yellow haired male and the deep violet haired male could feel this serenity from the words that followed next. From the words that came from Eli.
While he continued feeding little Johnny Jinn his bottle and he even relaxed enough to do it with just the one hand, using his other hand to resume stroking his tufty lavender locks, he looked over at his cousin and questioned him.
"So does it bother you that your wife has children that she doesn't share with you? She shares with James instead?" Eli questioned in such an unfaltering way that it made me do quite the double take. However, it was shown to me that a brilliant quality to the relationship between Jordan and Eli was that they were both blunt as blunt could be and they were exactly that way with each other.
Despite it being a potentially heavily loaded question, Jordan only thought about it for a couple of seconds and then he answered while reaching to stroke Johnny on the cheek while he fed.
"No." he stated plainly and from still being on the sofa I could tell that Eli believed that that was all he was going to get out of his cousin. He nodded his head. But more came out of the yellow haired male as he continued absentmindedly stroking Johnny on the chubby cheek. He shrugged. "Lynne's always cared for me. James has as well. They care for each other too. And now they have a baby to care for and love as well. It's just another person being brought into the world to be loved. How could there be anything bothersome about that?"
And I really did see the way that Eli's eyes flickered to all of the possibilities that it could indeed be bothersome. But instead of focusing on this, he focused on the absolute admiration he had for his cousin in all aspects of his life – and not just the way that he was selfless within his romantic relationships.
The Unovan male's distinctive eyes widening and glittering upon hearing the honest answer only proved the boundless admiration that he had for the yellow haired male and I knew that Jordan felt exactly the same way. They both cared for each other as much as Jordan cared for James and this was then articulated from the way that Jordan then took over the feeding of Johnny Jinn so Eli could have his chamomile tea.
We all resumed sitting in silence – in peaceful and contented silence. The only sounds that could be heard were Johnny guzzling the last few drops of his bottle and Eli swallowing mouthfuls of herbal tea that he gratefully appreciated coming from his cousin without asking for it. And then after the yellow haired male stopped feeding the lavender haired baby boy, the noises that could be heard were great belches from the three month old baby as he was burped!
Needless to say, this filled both of the men with extreme amusement and it only proved Eli's previous point that Jordan wasn't exactly the more mature all of the time. And evidently, neither was the deep violet haired male.
More silence ensued following Johnny Jinn's eruptions as Jordan tucked him down in the crook of his arm that time and the three of us waited for him to drift off to sleep with a full belly. But it didn't happen like it usually did. The lavender haired baby boy had milk drooling from the side of his face but he looked wider awake than ever.
Eli could see from the way that Jordan was blinking and resisting scratching his head that this situation was new when it came to the hungry baby. The deep violet haired male shuffled closer to the both of them.
"Now what?" he questioned simply and with an innocent look taking over his unusually coloured sunken eyes. And then following that, a bit of information washed over his brain as he realised that he had observed a potential way to get him to settle. His eyes widened all the more, perhaps even a little bit hopefully. "Do you think music would help? I think I know some of the stuff that gets played to him by Justin and James too."
"We don't need to follow what those two do. He's in our care today and we can figure out our own things that work." Jordan responded rather quickly for the first time that day and even though he wasn't being particularly stubborn, I believed that there was a small part of him that wanted to work it out himself and with his cousin. It probably felt like a bit of a throwback to his youth but a nice one. The two of them working together. After the yellow haired male felt the deep violet haired male blinking over at him, he insisted with more relaxation. "I think we just need to get cosy. That used to work with Misty. Some music couldn't hurt though."
And I could see the way that Eli's eyes widened all over again as he wondered what "getting cosy" could possibly mean. And the idea of changing into soft pyjamas and fuzzy socks and fuzzy slippers didn't sound appealing despite the fact that Johnny Jinn had drooled a little bit of milk onto his suit.
Luckily, Jordan lead by example without saying anything at all and while holding Johnny Jinn in his arms still but leaving his empty bottle abandoned onto the floor, the yellow haired male crawled onto the sofa with me. It took Eli a couple of moments to follow suit but soon enough, he did exactly this. I moved out of the way so there was enough room for the two men and the baby but I stayed with them on the sofa also.
The deep violet haired male reached for the remote and needless to say, a bit of a grin took over his face when he turned on the music channel and a highly interesting documentary was just starting.
"Hey!" Eli exclaimed to himself as much as anybody else but then he played it off like he was talking to Johnny Jinn all along by reaching for him himself and holding him up against his chest while he crammed onto the same sofa with Jordan. He then uttered quietly, like he was speaking just for the baby boy. But it was obvious that he wanted everybody to hear. "This is somebody that you're going to love."
And even though Jordan rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest and muttered that he would be changing the channel as soon as the clock struck four o'clock, soon enough he settled down on the sofa all the more so and even reached to hold me. And I had to say that he held me a lot closer and more softly than Eli when he first held baby Johnny Jinn.
But that was no longer the case. With his cousin right by his side, Eli had become rather relaxed with the baby boy and he showed this by letting him lull on his chest throughout the start of the musical documentary and rubbing his softly on the back and between the shoulder blades also. I watched as the two males tried to settle the baby for his nap and together – really feeling a part of that same duo that they had created and developed when they were children.
But like was often the case when it came to looking after children and babies, it was often a much more tiring and a sleepy affair for adults than it was for the little ones! And this was only proven when James, Lynne and Jorgie returned to the three guys just an hour or two or so later and there was a lot of snoring going on, on the sofa.
And it was not coming from baby Johnny Jinn, oh no! James, Lynne and Jorgie returned to Jordan and Eli curled up fast asleep on the sofa with the music channel continuing to play while little Johnny remained pressed up close to the two male's and with his eyes wider than ever!
He peered his oceanic wide and blue orbs right at his parents and sister as they approached the scene and he gurgled, wordlessly addressing the two sleeping beings on the sofa. And because I was the only other little thing still awake, I laughed out loud. And I laughed and I laughed and I laughed.
And it goes without saying that James and Lynne did too and even little Jorgie as neither Eli nor Jordan woke up from their slumber. Not even when Jorgie held her hands out towards Jordan's chest and she was placed there as well.
There and then and on that day it was instilled in me more than ever. Babysitting wasn't actually for the person being looked after. It had just as much benefits for the people who were in charge. It could be an amusing time. It could be an apprehensive one. And it could be a relaxing one. That was something that Jordan learned all over again that day and Eli learnt anew.
Looking after Johnny Jinn could be a very relaxing and enjoyable time. And it could result in some of the best naps. The best naps for the men, not for the little boy! For Johnny Jinn was determined to keep his eyes open as long as possible and enjoy every minute of those two caring men. He would grow up being cared for by the both of them. And he would care about them endlessly too.
The End.
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 So yeah, in the midst of an airy chapter, there are little touches of who Eli is as a person and where his story is going to go. As you can pick up, there are certain things that he's uneasy about when it comes to all of those people that he's introduced to! Like his cousin Jordan, he had a pretty tumultuous upbringing as well. But despite that and his private uncertainties, you'll get to know him as a really accepting and supportive character. I think he'll probably play a huge part in both Jorgie and Johnny's lives also. Ironically, probably helping them understand who they are :3 Thanks again for reading and I will be back on the 28th with To You Both so see you then!
AmyBieberKetchum signing out :P