1.27 Day 27

"Bwuh?" 

Little Tobias is very confused. 

Confusion turns into contentment when his bunny toy reappears. A flurry of green dust accompanies its arrival, but quickly dissipates. 

Unfortunately, his contentment is quite loud. 

Melor glares at his younger brother. Is it so much to ask that his obnoxiously loud toddler brother be kept out of his room?

With a sigh, he makes his way to the kitchen. 

"Mom, you took the last pancakes!" 

Nozomi looks at her plate. "Oh, sorry, Mel. I think there's cereal somewhere..."

"You're up early," she remarks. 

Melor scoffs, then shovels a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. 

They continue to eat in relative silence. Nozomo smiles wryly, waiting for a complaint to burst forth from her eldest child's lips. 

And sure enough... 

"Why does Toby keep going into my room!? He's so loud, I can't sleep!" 

Nozomi wants to laugh, considering she and Taras have rarely properly slept since Melor was born, but she bites her tongue. 

"I'm sorry, Melor. I'll try to keep him out of your bedroom in the morning." 

Melor nods, satisfied with this solution. 

Since he's up way too early for school and can't go back to sleep, Melor makes use of their new chess table. It was a belated birthday gift from his parents. 

He glances behind him at his mother teaching Tobias how to walk. 

I wonder if mom ever spent time with me like that...

It isn't long before his other siblings start crawling out of the nursery. Nozomi scoops Marisol up from the floor to return her to her room. 

"Don't be late for school," she calls over her shoulder. Melor just grunts. 

Looks like Nozomi's going to have her hands full today...

And so is Taras. 

The kids are attracted to Melor's toy box like moths to a flame. Unfortunately, they seem fond of sticking the toys they find into their mouths. 

Taras sighs as he pulls Tobias away from his favourite rabbit toy, bracing himself for the inevitable crying. 

Eventually all of the kids are either eating or sleeping, giving Nozomi some precious time to herself. Normally she would love to have some friends over, but it's been so long since she's been able to work out, she sacrifices her need for adult socialising for keeping fit. 

The dishwasher is broken yet again to no one's surprise. Taras has long resigned himself to his role as the family electrician and dutifully pulls out tools to repair the broken appliance. As he gets to work, Melor plops down behind him and pulls out his homework.

"Son, isn't it Friday?" 

Melor doesn't glance up from his assignment, "Yeah." 

"So why are you doing your homework now?" 

Melor looks up, his expression perplexed, "Because I always do my homework after school." 

"But it's Friday night. Aren't you tired?" 

He unsuccessfully tries to stifle a yawn, "Noooo."

Once Taras finishes up with the dishwasher, Melor leaps to his feet. 

"Well, maybe I am a bit sleepy..." 

Taras smothers a knowing smile. "Do you want a bedtime story?" 

"Daaad, I'm too old for bedtime stories!" 

Taras chuckles, "Well, humor your old man..." 

Well, if it's for his dad, he guesses a bedtime story is ok... 

Taras is barely halfway through the story when Melor's head hits the pillow. He pulls the sheets over his son and kisses his forehead. 

"Good night, son." 

AN: With all of these toddlers crawling around, poor Melor barely gets any time with his parents. He's rolled several wishes to get attention from mom or dad.