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“Whose fucking kid is this?” Blue calls over his shoulder. He turns to look around the very empty room.
The kid in question looks up at him with wide eyes, silently sucking on a finger. Its other hand holds a small blanket.
Blue looks around again with an exasperated sigh. Who the fuck brings a kid into a club? They weren't open for business yet today, but still…
He crouches down in front of the child and pastes on one of his customer service smiles. “Hi there. Where's your mom?”
The child regards him seriously but makes no move to take the finger out of its mouth.
“Where's your dad?” he tries.
The child slowly moves its wet finger to point backwards over its shoulder. “Da!” it declares confidently.
Blue glances in the direction it points, even though he doesn't see anyone. “Is your dad that way?” he asks, pointing in the same direction.
The kid pulls the hand back to itself. “Da!” it asserts again.
Blue keeps his face calm and nods as if he understands. “Ok, let's go find him.”
He straightens up and offers a hand out for the kid to take, but it's met with a blank stare. The child grips the small blanket with both hands, rubbing the fabric against its face. Blue recognizes this as a universal sign of sleepiness, but he knows better than to say anything. Instead, he crouches again and holds his palms out. The kid raises its arms and steps forward. Blue lifts the child and stands smoothly, arms wrapping around the little body automatically. A tiny, slobbery hand grips Blue’s expensive jacket.
“Come on, let's go find your dad.”
Blue walks over to the front door first; it's still locked. He shifts the kid to his hip as he moves towards the bar (empty), then the kitchen (empty), then the backdoor (still locked).
Blue’s brow furrows with confusion. This kid couldn't have just appeared out of thin air, and it doesn't seem like any doors were left open for him to wander in off the street.
“Who did you come in with, little guy?” Blue asks the child in a gentle voice, not really expecting a response. He's sure that any minute now, the kid is going to miss its parent and start crying. “So strange. Your dad must be playing hide and seek,” he continues in a cheerful tone. Maybe if he pretends this is all a game, he won't scare the poor kid. Blue shifts his hold and bounces the child gently as he considers where to look next.
Suddenly, Blue feels himself moving forward, knocked off balance as someone collides with him from behind. Without even thinking, Blue cradles the kid against his chest tightly as he steps forward and hops a little to keep from falling. Blue regains his balance and spins around with a glare.
“Blue! I'm sorry, I-” Blondie stops mid sentence when she sees the kid in his arms. Her eyes go wide. “Y-you have a baby!”
Blue’s annoyed expression smooths out as he adjusts the kid back to his hip. “Found him in the dining room, just standing there. We're looking for his dad.”
“Da!” The kid says, pointing away behind itself again.
Blondie flashes the child a grin and coos at it. “Awww, he's so cute! I can help look, but I'm sure you don't want to carry a baby around. I'll take him,” she tells Blue, holding out her hands.
Blue frowns at her, dark eyes pinning her with a glare. “We’re fine. Go tell C.J. what's happened; tell him that I said to sweep the club and bring anyone who's not supposed to be here to the stage.”
Blondie looks a little deflated. “Sorry, I just never imagined you holding a kid,” she mumbles as she walks away to find C.J.
Blue shakes his head. “Let's get you a snack.” He carries the kid to the kitchen and opens the pantry; he looks down at the child as it eyes the boxes.
“Anything look good to you?”
He pulls out a few boxes, replaces each, and finally finds crackers. The child holds both hands out for the box, practically jumping out of his arms to reach for the snack.
“Oh, you know these?” Blue asks with an amused grin.
He hands the box over to be gripped by chubby fingers, then picks up the dropped blanket and slings it over his shoulder. Closing the pantry, he moves to check the fridge next. “Alright, we have milk, and there's probably juice at the bar…”
The kid reaches a hand towards the milk, dropping the box in the process. Blue pulls the milk out, picks up the box, and somehow juggles child and snacks over to the counter. He plops the milk and crackers down, then carefully sits the child on the counter. Blue maneuvers himself close enough that the kid can't fall or try to jump down while he pulls the crackers out. The child eagerly accepts one, biting carefully on the corner.
Without moving away, Blue checks the nearby cabinets and finds disposable cups and napkins, then pours some milk. The child puts down the half-eaten cracker and tries to take the open cup from Blue’s hands.
“Wait, it's gonna spill,” he cautions.
An angry squeal answers him.
“Wait, wait, wait,” he chants.
The kid is really starting to fuss now, babbling and trying to grab the cup out of Blue's hand.
“I'm just getting a lid,” Blue says in a sing-song voice. “Just getting a lid, so I don't spill this all over you,” he keeps singing as he opens nearby drawers. The kid calms down and watches him. Blue grins, still looking around. “Oh you like the singing, little one?” he continues making up notes for his words.
The kid stares at him, clearly interested in the impromptu concert.
Blue finds a package of straws. “Just opening these straws, to get this little kid a drink,” he sings, glancing at the kid with a smile.
The child beams back at him. Blue finally gets a straw set up and holds the cup out to the kid. It immediately recognizes a straw and drinks quickly, chubby cheeks drawing in. It drinks the whole cup, then picks the cracker back up. Blue puts the milk away and scoops up the kid, who grabs at Blue’s shoulder with crumb-covered fingers. He takes the box and some napkins with them.
The click of heels on tile alerts him that someone else has come into the kitchen, and he turns to see a very shocked dancer.
“Oh God, Blue! Why do you have a baby? Here I’ll take it.” Rocket holds out her hands expectantly.
Blue swings the child away from her slightly, frowning. “I've got him. We're looking for his dad.”
“Da!” The child echoes past a mouthful of crackers.
“If you want to be helpful," Blue's voice takes on a pointed edge, "go tell Madame Gorski to meet me by the stage."
Rocket drops a hand to her hip; she still looks worried. “Alright, it’s just weird.”
Blue arches an eyebrow. “That someone left a baby here? Yeah, it's pretty weird.”
“No…it's weird that you're the one holding it,” Rocket says with a barely suppressed grin. “I'll get Gorski,” she says before spinning on her heel and practically skipping away.
Blue rolls his eyes at her mischievous tone and walks towards the stage. "Why does everyone keep acting like I'm gonna drop you or something?” Blue asks no one in particular. He bounces the child on his hip as he glides between tables. When they reach the edge of the stage, Blue sets the kid down on it and hands over another cracker. Now that the child is in front of him and closer to eye level, he can see how sleepy its eyes look. The kid drops the half-eaten cracker and reaches for its blanket with a heavy sigh that sounds way too adult for a baby. It looks up at Blue and starts to fuss, holding out its arms to him.
Blue scoops the child back up and gently urges its head onto his shoulder, then sways back and forth. A tiny hand grips the blanket against Blue's chest, and the child closes its eyes. Blue keeps moving with the kid, alternating between pacing and swaying in place. A loud noise backstage makes the child jolt in his arms and starts to cry. Blue soothes the kid back to quiet, but now it's wriggling in his arms in an attempt to fight sleep. Blue puts it down, but he knows it's only a matter of time before the sleepiness takes over again.
Seriously, where is this kid's dad? And where the hell are Gorski and C.J.?
Blue is just starting to wonder if he should take the kid somewhere quieter to nap when he hears a voice ring out.
"Oh my God, there you are!"
Blue looks up to see you rushing forward from backstage.
Oh no, you're cute.
His annoyance fades a little when he sees how genuinely worried you seem.
The child raises its arms and grins in recognition. "Da!"
You pick them up and squeeze them tightly to your chest. "Geez kid, I turn around for two minutes and you're out the door!" You turn your attention towards Blue as you settle the kid on your hip. "I'm so sorry for the trouble!"
Blue hops onto the stage and glides smoothly into customer service mode. "It's alright, we're just not set up for childcare," he says with a smile. "Blue Jones; I run this establishment." He holds out a hand. "You must be 'Da.'"
You shift your hold on the child and shake Blue's hand quickly. "Oh, this is actually my cousin; I babysit during the day. 'Da' is the only word they can say."
As if to illustrate your point, the child points a chubby finger at Blue and yells, "Da!"
Blue chuckles and lightly takes the kid's hand in his, making an exaggerated surprise face at the child. The kid giggles brightly at him. "I get that; I had a lot of younger cousins growing up."
Your eyes move over Blue curiously, noting his shiny shoes and expensive suit, but you wince when you notice the cracker crumbs mushed all over his jacket. "I can pay the cleaning bill for your suit," you offer quickly.
Blue shakes his head, still making faces at the kid in your arms and grinning when they giggle. "No need. The cleaner's used to getting worse than this out of my clothes." He looks away at the sound of Madame Gorski's heels clicking across the stage.
"Oh good; you've met our new bartender," she says as she approaches.
Blue glances back at you with raised eyebrows. "Is that so? Bartender, huh?"
"As long as this hasn't changed your mind?" you say hopefully. "I promise not to bring them back." You tilt your head at the child settling sleepily against your shoulder. "You won't ever have to emergency babysit again, Mr. Jones."
Blue hums low and grins. "What emergency? I had everything under control."