Your eyes do not deceive you, dear readers: it's a long awaited babysitting chapter! I had started planning ones for each of the Alolan classmates a ways back and never got around to working on them. But with the SM resurgence, I really wanted to write this one and I just love how it came out, so I wanted to share it with you all right away!
Aiden and Michelle: 18 months old
Lexi: 7 and a half years old
Babysitting: Kukui and Burnet
"Okay, babies! Can you tell me who this Pokémon is?"
Aiden and Michelle stared silently at a large flashcard being held up by Kukui and Burnet's nearly eight-year-old daughter, Lexi. It was emblazoned with the image of a Mimikyu, but neither toddler seemed too eager to respond.
"Lexi, they might be a little too young yet to play school," Burnet gently reminded the girl.
"Nuh uh, they're both really smart!" Lexi refuted before turning her attention back onto the twins. "You know who this Pokémon is, don't you?"
"Mmm…" Aiden sounded out, reaching for the card.
"See, I knew it!" Lexi crowed, her face lighting up as she looked over at the adults. "Aiden's almost got it!"
Kukui chuckled and shook his head. "Or he's just making noises."
"Aw, I think it's cute!" Misty giggled. "Lexi has a wonderful imagination, and it's sweet that she loves to play with the twins so much."
"Besides, I'll take any extra lessons on Pokémon they can get!" Ash added.
"Really?" Burnet giggled. "Even though they're only a year and a half old?"
"No way!" Ash cried. "You can never start learning too early."
"And he is mainly talking about Pokémon," Misty assured the professors, earning amused laughter from them.
Ash and Misty had decided to take a family vacation to the Alola region, and were currently staying with Kukui, Burnet, and their daughter. Although the twins were still young, they had yet to visit Alola, and Ash was keen on getting them there as soon as he could. So, once they'd gotten enough experience traveling on planes, Ash and Misty had decided that they felt comfortable enough taking Aiden and Michelle on the long plane ride to the tropical region. Both babies had done exceptionally well during the travel, much to their parents' relief, and had been greatly enjoying their time in Alola. Pikachu and Ash's Alolan Pokémon, who he had brought along for the trip, were also having a blast, and had currently occupied themselves with playing outside on the beach with Burnet's Munchlax and Lexi's Rockruff.
A bright orange light was suddenly cast across the room where everyone else was gathered, leading Misty to look out the large window across the way. "Oh wow, look at that sunset! I can't believe we still haven't gotten a chance to watch it from the beach yet."
"Yeah, that's what happens when it coincides with the babies' bedtime," Ash sighed laughingly. "The Pokémon have gotten to see it more than we have!"
"Well…why don't you two go and watch it tonight?" Kukui suggested.
Burnet's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea, Kukui!" Turning back towards Ash and Misty, she assured them, "we'd love to look after Aiden and Michelle for you while you're out!"
Misty shifted in her seat. "That's very sweet of you, but they can be a bit of a handful when Ash and I aren't around, especially when it comes to bedtime. I wouldn't want to burden you two."
"It's no burden at all," Kukui promised her. "You know Burnet and I love those two like they're our own! Besides, we'll have everything under control."
"Really?" Ash pressed. "You're sure?"
"Of course, we are!" Burnet stressed. "Those two are just the sweetest. It would be wonderful to spend some one-on-one time with them!"
"If you're sure…" Misty hummed.
"You just let us know everything we need to know," Kukui replied. "We'll tackle it from there!"
"Okay, well, first of all, Michelle is definitely going to freak out when we leave," Misty sighed, wincing a bit as she got into the details of the matter. "She's super attached to us, which you guys already know, but when we walk out, it's a whole different level of panic. She'll calm down eventually…she just needs a lot of attention."
"Give her lots of hugs and snuggles!" Ash warmly suggested. "Those are Michelle's favorites."
"When it comes to bedtime, Aiden will try and distract you from actually getting him down," Misty continued. "He also might try and run from you when he realizes you're trying to put him to bed. No matter how cute it gets, don't let him win."
"Otherwise you'll be going in circles," Ash agreed, nodding his head.
"Michelle will probably lose her mind again when you try to put her down," Misty continued. "She hates bedtime, but mostly because she hates being alone. So, if you hang around for a little while, that'll help and she'll just fall asleep eventually."
"But if you want to try and avoid all of that, you should give them both milk before they go to bed," Ash added. "That tends to really calm them down!"
"They still have some bottles in the fridge," Misty concluded. "Just warm those up and you'll be good to go!"
Kukui and Burnet both looked a bit flustered, which in turn made Ash and Misty hesitant.
"Oh, that's too much to keep in mind, isn't it?" Misty sighed.
"No, no, it's fine!" Burnet blurted. "We can totally handle it!"
"Seriously, if it's too much, we'll just stay here," Ash added. "We can always watch the sunset another time!"
"You don't have to worry about a thing!" Burnet pushed. "Kukui and I are super experienced! And you two absolutely deserve some time for yourselves."
Kukui nodded before agreeing, "Burnet is right. Go ahead and enjoy the moonlight!"
Ash and Misty exchanged looks, but soon smiled at one another before turning back to Kukui and Burnet.
"Okay!" Misty chirped. "But please, don't hesitate to call either of us if there's a problem."
"Yeah, we're not gonna go too far from the house anyway," Ash added.
"Promise!" Burnet swore before looking over her shoulder, finding that the twins were still enraptured by Lexi showing them her Pokémon flashcards. "Maybe you two should try sneaking out of here while they're preoccupied."
Ash and Misty nodded and slowly got to their feet, moving towards the front door as quietly as possible. As soon as Ash turned the knob, however, Michelle's head whipped around, causing her father to let out a strangled noise.
"So close," Misty sighed, shaking her head.
"She's really got the senses of a Zubat," Ash groaned.
"M-Mama!" Michelle whimpered, reaching out for her mother. "Mama! Mama!"
"Shh, it's okay, baby," Misty hushed, walking over to the toddler and lifting her into her arms. "Mama will be right back. Daddy and I just want to go somewhere very quickly! But it's almost your bedtime, so you've got to stay here."
Michelle moaned and quickly shook her head, reaching up to rub at her eyes as she continued to snivel. Burnet got up from her seat and walked over to Misty, holding her arms out towards the little girl. "Come here, Shelly! You can hang out with me!"
Misty handed the fussy toddler over to Burnet, and that's when Michelle fully burst into tears. The researcher cooed and began bouncing the girl up and down, while Misty's face immediately reflected guilt.
"I feel so bad!" She groaned.
"Don't, don't!" Burnet assured her. "It'll be just fine! You and Ash go enjoy yourselves! Don't even think about it."
Although she still looked miserable, Misty took in a deep breath, quickly spun around and rejoined Ash, the two of them briskly walking out of the house and closing the door behind them.
Michelle didn't actually see them leave, but it wouldn't have made much of a difference considering she was already screaming at the top of her lungs. While Aiden stared up at his sister in apparent mystification, Lexi winced, exclaiming, "wow, she's super loud!"
"Aw, poor baby," Burnet cooed, still bouncing the girl as she walked over to take a seat on the couch. "It'll be okay!"
Still flinching, Lexi looked over at her father and asked, "is that normal?"
Kukui smiled sadly at her as he got up from his seat and walked over to her and Aiden. "It is. Little ones can get upset over lots of things! And some just cry louder than others. Michelle's got a pretty impressive set of lungs, it seems."
"She misses Ash and Misty?" Lexi questioned.
"Mmhm," Kukui confirmed. "She really loves her mom and dad!"
"But Aiden's not crying…" Lexi murmured, glancing over at the bewildered looking little boy. "Does that mean he doesn't love them as much?"
"No, of course not!" Kukui refuted. "He's just able to deal with them leaving better than his sister can. Remember, they're very little, but they're still people! They have their own unique personalities, and they won't always be bothered by the same things."
"Oh…I get it!" Lexi breathed. She smiled at Aiden as she crawled over to the boy, lifting him up in her arms and carrying him over to the couch where Burnet was situated with Michelle. Lexi placed him beside her before reaching over and patting the wailing Michelle's head, much to her mother's interest. "Don't cry, Michelle! We're still here!"
The baby looked over at Lexi but continued to cry her eyes out. Aiden, who had been watching Lexi, reached over as well, grabbing onto his sister's foot and gently pulling at it. That didn't seem to do much in the way of calming her down either, however.
"Your mommy and daddy weren't kidding when they said you were attached, were they?" Burnet groaned.
"Let me have a go," Kukui offered, walking up to Burnet and taking the little girl from her. "Hey, it's alright! You're just fine; no need to cry, sweetie!"
He gently bounced Michelle up and down, not dissimilar to what Burnet had just been doing. This time, however, Michelle's fervent sobs were slowly worn down until they were nothing more than scant whimpers. And while Lexi marveled at her father's feat, Burnet simply resorted to pouting.
"How'd you manage that?!" She demanded. "We basically did the same thing!"
"Shelly really loves Papa!" Lexi giggled.
Kukui chuckled as Michelle gazed up at him with her tear stained face. "She has always seemed to have a strange affinity for me! Not sure why I'm so interesting to you, pretty girl, but I do appreciate it!"
"Kuku…" Michelle gurgled, rubbing at her eyes.
"Well, at least she finally stopped," Burnet sighed before smiling at the girl. "Let me get a tissue so we clean you up, little miss!"
Once she stood up, Aiden tried to crawl after her, causing Lexi to gasp and grab onto him to prevent him from falling off the couch. Burnet whipped around with an alarmed look on her face, earning a sheepish grin from her daughter.
"Don't worry, I caught him!" Lexi chirped.
"Thank you, sprout," Burnet sighed, reaching over to pick the boy up. "Guess you want to come with me, huh, buddy?"
"Ye," Aiden replied, grinning at the woman.
Burnet, in turn, couldn't help but to smile and rub her nose against Aiden's, earning delighted giggles from the little boy. She then carried him off towards the bathroom in order to fetch a tissue, Lexi following dutifully alongside.
"It's not so bad being here with us, I promise!" Kukui cooed to the baby in his arms, still bouncing her up and down. "I know; maybe we'll have a little fun before you go to bed. Does that sound good?"
Michelle mumbled in response; it was nothing coherent, but she was only a year and a half old, so that wasn't uncommon.
Burnet soon remerged with the tissue, using the hand that wasn't holding onto Aiden to wipe at Michelle's face. The girl protested at first, but after the first couple of swipes, relaxed and allowed Burnet to finish fixing her up.
"What a good girl!" Burnet gasped playfully, finally getting a weak smile out of the little one.
"So, I'm not sure if it's the best idea, but I thought maybe we could do something with the twins before putting them to bed," Kukui suggested to a confounded Burnet.
"Yeah!" Lexi agreed, hopping up and down.
"Hold on," Burnet sighed, eyeing her daughter sideways before turning her attention back onto Kukui. "Something like what?"
Kukui looked a bit sheepish as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not totally sure, to be honest. I just figured it might help to make Michelle more comfortable. Maybe even wear her and Aiden out a bit, if we're lucky!"
"Oh, I know!" Lexi scurried over towards the babies' playpen and picked up a toy that had been sitting alongside it: what looked like a plastic fishbowl with a smiling face on the front and three buttons beneath it.
"This is one of Aiden and Michelle's favorite toys," Lexi explained. "We were playing with it together earlier! They really love it."
"I guess we could let them play for a little bit…" Burnet murmured.
Lexi grinned and sat on the floor, flipping the fishbowl over and dumping out five plastic figures in the likeness of Goldeen, Staryu, Wailmer, Corphish, and Luvdisc.
"Well, I think I know who got them that toy," Kukui laughed.
"It's so cute!" Lexi squealed, kneeling in front of the plaything. "Watch!"
She picked up the Wailmer toy and dropped it back into the fishbowl, causing it to light up and play music. Both babies instantly started laughing and waving their arms up and down, much to Burnet's enjoyment.
"Look at that!" She marveled. "They really do love it!"
Kukui hummed and nodded, but quickly added, "kind of strange, though…why would they make one of the Pokémon a Wailmer? You'd never see one in a tank like that."
Burnet furrowed her brow. "Seriously? That's what you got out of this?"
"Come on! Let's all play together!"
Kukui and Burnet looked down at Lexi, who was beaming with excitement.
"Worth a shot," Kukui sighed, placing Michelle on the floor before taking a seat himself. Burnet did the same with Aiden, and both watched as the twins crawled over to the toy and began playing with it themselves.
"Here you go!" Lexi offered, holding the Goldeen figure out towards the babies. Michelle hesitantly took it and observed the toy for a short moment before dropping it into the fishbowl just like Lexi had before with the Wailmer. And just like before, the fishbowl lit up and began playing music, causing Michelle to squeal excitedly.
Aiden, in turn, reached out and began to rock the fishbowl back and forth, which was possible thanks to its rounded base. His actions caused the fishbowl to play different lights and music, which only elicited more giggles from the babies.
"Wow, this thing is really a hit!" Kukui marveled.
"Of course!" Burnet laughed. "You know that little ones love this kind of stuff! Lexi used to."
"I still think it's pretty fun," Lexi admitted with a giggle, watching as Michelle grabbed the other side of the fishbowl and shook it herself.
"I wonder what those buttons do," Kukui mused, pointing at the trio of them on the fishbowl's base.
"I'll show you!" Lexi crowed. She pushed the first button, and the fishbowl began to sing the alphabet, the lights flashing along with the tune. The twins stopped their excited shrieking and instead gazed at the fishbowl, both of them gently tilting their heads side-to-side.
"Aw!" Burnet cooed. "They like the song!"
"Abba abba abba," Aiden began to babble, still moving his head.
Kukui raised an eyebrow before grinning, exclaiming, "would you listen to that…I think he's trying to sing along with it!"
"Ab ab," Aiden added, smirking at everyone immediately after.
Burnet giggled and clapped her hands, Kukui and Lexi joining in as well. "That was wonderful, Aiden!"
Michelle looked around her, quietly observing the Alolan family's actions. She then began to clap her own hands as well, grinning excitedly at her amused brother.
"Shelly liked it too!" Lexi noted with a giggle.
"Your brother has a nice voice, doesn't he?" Burnet asked in amusement.
"Ye!" Michelle chirped, much to Burnet's delight.
They continued to play with the toy for a little while longer, until Michelle began to yawn and rub her eyes. Kukui nudged Burnet as soon as he saw it, which led the woman to smile and nod her head.
"Alright, I think it's time we start getting ready for bed!" Kukui declared.
"Aw, already?" Lexi groaned.
"They're little, sprout," Burnet giggled. "They need lots of sleep!"
"I know, but we're having so much fun!" Lexi cried.
"You can all play some more tomorrow," Kukui promised his pouting daughter. "Besides, shouldn't you be getting ready for bed too?"
This question visibly irked Lexi. "No way! I'm not a baby, Papa! And I don't have Pokémon School in the morning, either. It's vacation time!"
"I know," Kukui assured her with a snicker. "I work there, after all."
Lexi scowled. "You're not funny."
"Aw, come on, I thought that was a pretty good one!" Kukui guffawed.
"Now, now," Burnet sighed. "You two quit teasing each other and help me out with the twins!"
"Of course, dear," Kukui trilled, picking up a sleepy Michelle and placing her in his laps. "What do you say, little girl? Ready to go to bed?"
Michelle grumbled and shook her head, but then slumped down against Kukui's chest, silently contradicting herself.
"Maybe she'll go down a bit easier if we put Aiden down at the same time," Burnet suggested. "Ash and Misty have both told me that Michelle tends to follow after Aiden in most things, and I think he'll give us a bit of an easier time."
"I don't know about that, Mama."
Burnet hummed and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Lexi?"
The young girl silently pointed towards the large aquarium in the center of the house. While Burnet had been distracted with trying to formulate a plan to get the twins to bed, Aiden had managed to crawl away from the rest of them and was now parked right in front of the aquarium, sitting on his knees with his little hands pressed against the glass.
"Oh, I should've known," Burnet sighed, getting to her feet. "Aiden just loves hanging out over there!"
"It's just like his and Michelle's toy," Lexi noted with a small laugh. "Only it's real and gigantic!"
Walking over to Aiden, Burnet cooed, "you like watching the Luvdisc, buddy?"
"Uvvvv…" Aiden babbled, gently patting the glass as he tilted his head back.
One of the rendezvous Pokémon fluttered down towards Aiden, curiously staring at the boy through the glass. He, in turn, lowered his head and tilted it, just as inquisitive as the water type before him. With an elated smile, the Luvdisc pushed forward and pressed it lips against the glass, as though it were trying to give Aiden a kiss. That caused him to laugh wildly, eagerly bouncing on his knees and reaching up as Luvdisc swam up and away from him.
"Ooh, I guess the Luvdisc like watching you, too!" Burnet giggled.
"Burnet, remember the task at hand?"
The female professor flinched and looked over her shoulder at her smirking husband. "I didn't forget! Aiden's just so cute."
"Which is exactly what Ash and Misty warned us about," Kukui chuckled. "He's a smart kid; he knows we've been talking about bedtime, and he's trying to avoid it."
Burnet puffed out her cheeks in frustration; she knew Kukui was right. Releasing a puff of air, Burnet bent over and picked the boy up, smiling at him. "You are such a cheeky little thing! Your mommy and daddy definitely have their hands full with you, don't they?"
Aiden giggled and began clapping his hands. He definitely didn't understand what Burnet was saying to him, but the sound of her voice was enough to amuse him, and in turn, amuse her as well.
Kukui sighed and shook his head, gaining Lexi's attention. "What's wrong, Papa?"
"These two sure know how to use charm," Kukui quipped, nodding towards both Michelle and Aiden. "And it's a direct hit on your mother every time!"
"Aw, you can't blame her!" Lexi cooed, reaching up to gently tickle Michelle's arm. "They're adorable!"
"That they are!" Kukui agreed. "But we've got to get them to bed soon, or else they'll be very cranky in the morning! And that definitely won't charm their parents. Right, Burnet?"
The woman groaned and threw her head back. "I know; I keep getting distracted! I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize," Kukui snickered. "Let's just get Aiden into the playpen and see what happens."
Burnet nodded and walked over to the enclosure where the twins had been sleeping during their family's stay in Alola. She gently placed the boy in, who stayed on his feet and grabbed onto the side of the playpen. After the fact, Kukui carried Michelle over to the enclosure and placed her in next to her brother, but she did not imitate his calm composure. As soon as Kukui let go of her, Michelle began whimpering, whining, and stomping her feet. When he didn't immediately pick her back up, the little girl threw herself down into a sitting position and began to cry, Aiden quietly watching her over his shoulder.
"Okay, so that didn't do much…" Kukui sighed.
Burnet hummed sadly before her eyes lit up. "Hold on! Didn't Ash and Misty say that giving the twins milk before bed would help?"
Kukui blinked. "oh, you're right!"
Having overheard her parents, Lexi crowed, "there's milk in the fridge! I'll get it!"
"Thank you, Lexi," Burnet breathed, smiling at her daughter. "You're such a big help!"
The girl ran over to the fridge and returned far more quickly than either of her parents were expecting. It all made sense, however, when they realized she was holding onto a full gallon of milk.
"Oh, no, sprout, not that milk!" Burnet couldn't help but to laugh.
Lexi took a look at the container and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean not this milk? Milk is milk!"
"The twins' milk is in bottles," Kukui snickered. "Here, I'll show you!"
Lexi scowled but followed after her father, gallon of milk still in hand. He opened up the fridge, taking the milk from Lexi and returning it to its usual spot, and instead retrieved two baby bottles full of milk.
"I didn't see those!" Lexi cried.
"To be fair, they were a bit above your eye level," Kukui chuckled. "Now we just have to warm them up and then we can give them to the twins!"
Lexi seemed to think about it for a moment before commenting, "I like warm milk too when I can't fall asleep! So, I bet this will really help."
"I sure hope so!" Kukui agreed.
While Kukui went to work on heating up the babies' bottles, Burnet had removed Michelle from the playpen, gently bouncing the girl while patting a bewildered Aiden's head.
"Mishy," Aiden squeaked, pointing at his sister with a frown on his face.
"Yeah, Michelle's a little upset, huh?" Burnet cooed. "You know she doesn't like bedtime?"
"No Mishy!" Aiden suddenly yelped. "No cwy!"
"Aw, you don't want her to cry!" Burnet gasped. "That's just the sweetest thing! You're such a good brother!"
Aiden reached up and grabbed Michelle's foot, holding onto it tightly. Burnet noticed this and suddenly recalled that Aiden had done the same thing on the couch before when Michelle was crying. Tilting her head, Burnet thought for a moment before murmuring, "maybe…"
The researcher placed Michelle back in the playpen. This time, Aiden embraced her and refused to let go, which began to slowly calm his sister down.
"He's protective of her!" Burnet breathed, her face lighting up.
"What was that?"
Burnet spun around and beamed at a bewildered Kukui. "Aiden is protective of Michelle! He felt bad that she was crying, so I put her back down in the playpen and he started to hug her!"
Kukui looked around Burnet and smiled. "Well, what do you know! That sure is sweet!"
"I wanna see!" Lexi cried, scurrying up to the playpen and observing the babies inside. "Aw! Look at them!"
"They always say that twins have a special bond with one another from the time they're born," Kukui mused. "Seems like Aiden and Michelle are the perfect example of that!"
He walked up to the enclosure, right next to Lexi, and held the bottles out towards the babies. Aiden quickly let go of Michelle and reached for his bottle while his sister quietly watched on. After a short moment, she too stretched her arms out and took her own bottle, the two of them wasting no time in eagerly drinking from the containers.
"Whoa, they really like it!" Lexi marveled.
"They sure do!" Burnet agreed. "Now let's hope it's enough to get them to sleep."
Burnet's wish was granted, as not even halfway through their perspective bottles, both twins were beginning to grow visibly tired. Aiden managed to finish his just before passing out, and Michelle made it through about two-thirds of hers before falling asleep herself.
The researcher giggled as she reached over into the playpen and retrieved the bottles. It did nothing to disturb either twin, who remained fast asleep and snuggled up close together.
"I'll put those in the sink, Mama!" Lexi offered.
"Thank you, sprout," Burnet sighed gratefully, handing the bottles off to Lexi. "I really appreciate it! You can just leave them in there; I'll go wash them in a little bit."
"Okay!" Lexi chirped. "I think I'm gonna go read in my bed after…now I'm getting tired. Is that okay?"
"Of course!" Burnet assured her. "It's definitely exhausting taking care of those two, huh?"
"You said it…" Lexi sighed, trudging towards the sink.
Burnet hid a titter behind her hand before strutting over to the couch, where Kukui had already laid himself out.
"Lexi may be young, but she's wise beyond her years," he commented robotically.
"I have always admired that about her," Burnet replied playfully, sitting beside her husband and slumping down herself.
"You know…I forgot how hard it was taking care of babies," Kukui sighed. "I don't remember Lexi being quite that difficult."
"Well, no," Burnet agreed, "but there was only one of her, to be fair."
Despite his exhaustion, Kukui couldn't help but to smile. "They sure are cute, though."
"Absolutely!" Burnet giggled. "And sweet, too."
"Still…" Kukui mused, "I don't know how many nights in a row I could do this! Guess I'm getting too old."
Burnet snorted and rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't be so dramatic! Even Lexi is wiped out from helping with the twins, and that girl is full of energy, all the time."
The mention of their daughter's name caused Kukui to sit up straight and look over his shoulder, letting out a short laugh. "Guess you're right about that!"
He suddenly got up from the couch, leading Burnet to raise an eyebrow and turn her own head to follow after Kukui. It was then that Burnet saw Lexi slumped against the ladder that led to the loft, fast asleep with her head resting on her shoulder.
"She didn't even make it up to her bed?!" Burnet gawked.
Kukui smirked and scooped the girl up in his arms. "On second thought, maybe we should babysit the twins more often!"
