okay I finished eating so I can bring you some self indulgent (im studying zoology and herpetology) Uncle!Konoha thoughts.
the one time he takes baby Akaashi anywhere without the intention of meeting someone, its to the zoo, and baby Akaashi is just as obsessed with reptiles as Konoha is so when he bumps into an absolute angel who is walking through the reptile house answering questions, and is absolutely endeared by how baby Akaashi squeals with love as she presses her face against the glass of a boa's enclosure, he falls in love and may find a reason to take baby Akaashi to the zoo every chance he gets.
oh, I LOVE this!!
after having his ass handed to him multiple times now, Konoha promised Akaashi he would stop flirting with people while on babysitting duty. He promised. And yeah, he totally promised before and completely forgot about it (hoe convenient) but this time, he feels like hes threading too close to having his time with babygirl being cut off short, and he loves her too much to let that happen, so he makes good on his promise.
And the first half of the zoo visit goes by smoothly. His full focus is on baby Akaashi and how adorable she is when she gets excited about all the animals!! Not to mention how cute she is, when babbling to the other kids nearby some random trivia Uncle Aki told her about the animals they're seeing (no, he totally didn't read that from the little information panel in front of every exhibition pfff)
That is until the reptiles exhibition. Thats when Uncle Aki SHINES.
On the way there he tells her the coolest things he knows, dumpingall the info he collected during his reptile nerd years. Its easy to see how his excitement bleeds through baby Akaashi, she's jumping up and down, stars in her eyas as uncle Aki talks, until one point it turns into too much excitement for a such a tiny body and shes dashing from his side and to the snakes exhibit.
Of course he hurries behind her, sighing in relief the moment he spots her in a crowd of other kids around the same age. But baby Akaashi stands out, giddily greetin the Boa Constructor and her squishing against the glass enclosure. Konoha calls her name to grab her attention and is completely ignored, but he can't find it in his heart to be mad about it. Instead, he starts to make way to her.
Thats when he notices you, makijg him stop in his track if only for a brief second. You look like an absolute angel and if the endearment in your voice when talking to baby Akaashi is anything to go by, you actually might be one.
Konoha has to shake the dumbfounded expression off his face when his niece points at his direction, making you, and the rest of the mini-humans crowd, look at him. Turns out that baby Akaashi kept interrupting what you were saying with her own impressively accurate facts about Boa Constructors, making you crouch down and compliment her on how much she knew about it and she lets you know that uncle Aki told her aaaaaaall about snakes and lizards and—
She goes on a monologue about reptiles and how awesome they are, but Konoha can't focus on what shes saying when your eyes flicker between Baby Akaashi and him. Oh, your eyes, the way you smile up at him when his niece tell you that uncle Konoha is the coolest. God, you might be the prettiest thing he's ever seem.
He tries to say something, get her attention so she stops interrupting the guided visit but his mind is coming up blank. And then it fully short circuits when you say to an giddy baby Akaashi: "Well, your Uncle Aki seems like a really cool guy. Why don't you two join us for the rest of your visit?"
And he is left utterly humiliated when his 5 year old niece and her yelled out "yay" is more eloquent at answering you than he is. Really, any other response beside a sheepish smile and a stuttered out "yeah, that'd be cool" would be fine and not make him look lie a complete fool. You don't seem to mind though, shooting him a sweet smile whenever baby Akaashi raises her hand to ask question during the rest of the guided visit. And she is Keiji's daughter, so there were a lot of questions.
At the end of the visist, when they go to thank you for letting them join in, Konoha is phisically itching to shoot you one of his best lines to get your number. But one, he has a feeling his usual charm wouldn't quiet land with you and, more importantly, two, he made a promise to Akaashi. So, he and baby Akaashi bit their goodbyes and despite the ridiculous amount of reptile themed merch hes carrying on his way out, he feels like hes leaving empty handed.
Its only when he and Baby Akaashi reache his car, thta Konoha's gloom demeanor brightens up as she asks him if they could come see the snakes next time. "Yeah, that'd be cool", he tells her with a smile.
