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Sitting at the dining table with your 7 month old son, Megumi, you were spoon feeding him some mashed sweet potatoes. Introducing him to new solids was tough, since he seemed to be such a picky eater. But, you were able to find something he actually liked: sweet potatoes.
He was delighted to have them every time, eagerly opening his mouth for more, unlike the other foods he pulled his head away from. He kicked his little legs and banged his tiny hands on the tray of his high chair, happily munching on his food. Then you heard it, a very clear sound.
“Dadadada” Megumi happily voiced. You gasped. He might be saying his first word. Sure, he had been babbling random strings of sounds lately, but this time it was so coherent. He was gonna say it.
“Toji! Come here!” You called, setting the spoon down on a napkin. A big smile spread across your face, and you were trying not to show the bursting excitement in you the same way Megumi showed excitement about sweet potatoes.
“What?” Toji called back, somewhere upstairs, probably fixing the thing you asked him to earlier.
“Hurry! Megumi’s about to say his first word!” Suddenly, a loud noise is heard followed by the sound of quick footsteps scrambling to get downstairs. Toji made an appearance in the kitchen where both you and Megumi sat, eyes wide and glistening with a small smile, displaying the same excitement you were feeling.
He sat down in the chair next to you and leaned in close to little Megumi’s face, even if it was much to the latter’s discomfort. Toji’s smile started to drop.
“He’s not sayin’ anything, ma.” You rolled your eyes. “He was just saying ‘dadada’ and it was so clear. Trust me, he’s about to say his first word.”
You tried to coax Megumi by feeding him another spoon, and that seemed to boost his energy again.
“Da..” Megumi tried. You and Toji both started to get excited again. This is what parenthood was about, watching the milestones and seeing your baby grow.
“Cmon, Megumi, say dada!” You gently tried to push. Megumi looked at you almost nervously, all of the sudden pressure for him to do something made him hesitant.
“Dada, Megs. You can do it.” Toji joined in with you, trying to push him to say it.
“Da…” Megumi started again. Both you and Toji tensed in anticipation.
“Damn!” Megumi shouted, obviously very joyful about the new word. You and your husband froze as Megumi kept happily kicking. He held completely still as you turned to look at him.
“Toji.” The clear and demanding tone in your voice made him flinch.
“Ahem, uh, yeah?” He tried to avoid your piercing glare. He felt the sweat starting to form on his forehead, either from his nervousness or from the rage radiating off of you, he couldn’t tell.
“That was his first word. Why was that his first word?” Oh, you were seething now. What was supposed to be a cute and heartfelt moment now tainted and replaced with the memory of Megumi saying damn. You both knew exactly why too.
“I don’t know, doll. Maybe he-” he started, but you quickly interrupted him. “Don’t act like you don’t know why. How many times have I told you that he was going to pick up on the things you say?” you demanded.
“I don’t say it that often…” He tried to defend, but you were already recalling and counting each and every time he said less than ideal words, and Toji’s bad habit was much worse than you previously remembered. At this point, you should just be grateful Megumi didn’t say something even worse.
“Damn it, Megumi.” Toji said when Megumi splashed him during bathtime.
“Where’d I put his damn socks?” when he misplaced Megumi’s socks.
“Sorry, ma, the line was so damn long.” when he took too long in the coffee shop.
There were countless times, and even more when you counted the real curse words he’d say.
“Shit, he’s throwing up!” when Megumi was spitting up on him.
“What kind of dumbass…” when his team was losing on tv.
And your personal least favorite, “Fuck!” when he accidentally badly hurt himself or dropped something important.
Even though every single time you hiss at him, “Stop cursing in front of Megs,” he wouldn’t stop. You warned him that Megumi was eventually going to listen and repeat him, and he never believed you. It was too late now, for sure.
You sighed. There was nothing to do now, since the damage had been done. When you glanced at Toji’s face again, however, he was laughing. Trying to hide his face in his hand, you watched as his body shook with each one.
“It’s not funny.” You scolded, but then you heard it.
“Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn.” Megumi quietly chanted to himself as he smacked his hands around in the mess you didn’t even realize he had made.
A small, sarcastic puff of air resembling some amusement came out of you. Then a chuckle, maybe out of disbelief of the ridiculousness of it. Then a small laugh. Sure, you were going to kill Toji after this, but this memory was going to be one of the ones you looked back on, laughed about, and told as a funny story.
Toji saw you laughing and smiled with you. “See? There’s that pretty smile. This ain’t the end of the world.” he assured, pulling you closer with his big arm. Then you both turned to Megumi, still quietly rehearsing the brand new word he learned. Smiling softly, you realized it truly wasn’t a big deal at all.
“Yeah, Megs, say it with your chest, damn!” Toji encouraged through his laughter. You smacked his arm. “Toji!”
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hi cuties. im back with more dad toji cuz.. i love him