Chapter Text
His sister could not have popped out a more good natured kid, Rin was sure of it. Then again, it wasn’t like she didn’t have the cards stacked in her favor.
His little nephew grasped at Rin’s hair, his green eyes curious. His pudgy fingers tried to take a lock and stuff it in his drooling mouth. He was teething, the little bastard, and Gou warned him everything he touched would go straight into his mouth.
“We have to be especially careful with him,” she had said, and as if to illustrate her point, the baby had grabbed her necklace and tried to stuff it in his mouth. “He’s also getting into everything. We have to keep a constant eye on him.”
“Hey, squirt, knock it off,” Rin untangled his hair from his nephew’s fingers, kissing the pudgy digits. His nephew broke out into a slow smile, a perfect imitation of his father, and Rin wondered if Gou ever wished the baby looked even a little bit like her.
Gou came out of her room, her coat and purse in hand. “Thank you for watching him, Rin,” she kissed her brother’s cheek. “I just didn’t want to take him out in this weather. He’s not totally over that cold.”
“No problem,” he waved his nephew’s hand. “We’re gonna have a good time, aren’t we?” The baby babbled at his uncle in reply.
“Makoto should be home by six, but I’ll probably be back before him,” she shrugged on her coat. “Just call me if you need anything.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Rin urged her out the door. “We’ll be fine.”
With one last kiss for her son and another thanks for her brother, Gou left. Rin turned to the baby in his arms. “Well, squirt, looks like it’s just the two of us.” The baby tried to give his uncle a messy kiss in the chin. Rin laughed and lifted the baby, giving him a raspberry on his round belly. His nephew squealed in delight.
Gou and Makoto’s son was an easy child. Rin knew he couldn’t have gotten it from Gou- she had been a whirlwind when they were kids, but then again, so had he. Luckily their baby seemed to have inherited all of his father’s calm.
The hours ticked by, and the baby played so peacefully that Rin thought nothing of taking a quick run to the bathroom. He watched his nephew closely. It would only be a quick trip, less than a minute. Surely he would be fine.
He failed to see Makoto’s briefcase stacked neatly between the couch and the end table.
When he returned (less than three minutes later), his nephew was happily babbling away, a permanent ink marker in each pudgy fist. His face was covered in black scribbles, while his arms and legs were painted in colorful streaks of blue.
Rin paled.
Shit.