[C] A Family Trip

Spiro ran his fingers up and down his daughter's ribs, grinning as the girl squirmed and giggled.

"Does that tickle? Is Rosa tickly?"

She squirmed more, jamming her fists against her face as her giggling got louder and louder.

Spiro leant over his daughter and pressed his lips to her stomach, blowing a loud raspberry against her skin. No one had come in store for a few hours and Rosa had woken up fussy, so he thought that bringing her to the counter and spending some time with her to wear her out and calm her down would be nice.

Tahir Sijistani had his two year old son perched on his shoulders, thick chunky legs on either side of the man's head.  

His large hands were up and holding onto his son's little ones.  It only took Tahir's pointer finger and thumb, the size difference was so big. 

Jem's feet were bare, showing off the dimples above his nubby toes.  He had his chin rested on the top of his dad's head, but his eyes were bright and active, looking at everything around them and making little comments in gibberish.  

Most two year olds knew how to say a few words, but Jem seemed content to keep on talking in his own unique language.  Alexis and Tahir had tried to work on their son, encouraging him to learn to speak English.  But so far the thing that had stuck most was the "Awooo!" He'd holler while playing with his wolf teddy.

The small family came into Spiro's store and Jem let out an excited "Blwah!" at seeing both the Greek man and another baby.

Alexis chuckled at the sight of Jem perched atop his father's head.

They both looked so similar it was uncanny.

She hadn't been to this particular store but Jem was swiftly growing out of his old clothes, they seemed to be constantly buying his clothes now.

Tahir had suggested this particular store and given it's late trading hours once the sun set they had headed down.

Once inside Alexis gave the store and quick glance before smiling, this would do nicely.

Spiro straightened out when he heard the doors open and he gave the family a friendly grin.

"Jem, back again, little man?"

He hoisted his daughter up and propped her against his hip as he moved around the counter to greet the two familiar faces.

"Evening, Tahir," he greeted. His eyes dropped to Alexis and his smile widened a little. "And evening Mrs. Tahir. What can we do for your little rugrat today?"

Tahir brought the little boy off his shoulders and propped Jem's back against his chest.  He held out the little bare feet towards Spiro.  

"He needs new shoes." Tahir said, getting right to the point.  Jem's round face had a double chin while his dad was holding him like this, but he kept smiling, not taking his eyes off of Rosa.  

He held his hands out towards her.  

"shouanbaba!" He called, trying to get the other child's attention.

"Evening Mister Cosse."

Alexis greeted back, flitting over to the clothing section excitedly, it wasn't often that she got the chance to shop for Jem so she was going to make the most of it.

Especially since Tahir wouldn't tell her no if she wanted it.

"And new shirts and pants~"

Alexis chirped as she picked out some new socks for the little man, enjoying this far too much, all the toddler clothing was so cute.

Spiro tickled Jem's chubby little foot when it was held out to him. "So he does. Shoes are over-" He cut off as Alexis moved to the clothing. "It looks like your wife is well on her way to finding them already. The shoes are just behind the clothes."

Rosa, who'd been quite content to just hang in her father's grip, sqirmed a little and reached out to Jem when he reached out to her.

"You want to meet Jem, huh?" His grip on her shifted and he held her up with a grip under her armpits. He kissed and nuzzled her cheek. She giggled as his stubble tickled her skin. "Be nice to him, Rosa."

The girl reached out a chubby, tanned fist. When she touched Jem's chest, her hand fisted tightly in his shirt and jerked it. She giggled loudly.

The lycan's silver eyes followed Alexis as she went over to start searching out new clothes for their son.  It was like Jem was her little dolly.  

She was right though, Tahir would never deny her wishes.

The large man's attention was brought back between the two toddlers.    

It seemed that Rosa's giggles were contagious, because Jem too started to laugh along with her.  He didn't seem to mind when she tugged on his shirt.  It wasn't enough to hurt him, and his Daddy had a good grip on him too, making the baby feel safe.  

Tahir gently took Rosa's hand that was tugging on Jem's shirt and wedged his thumb into her palm, coaxing her to let go of his son's shirt before she accidently (or not so accidently) hurt him.

It wasn't often that she got to shop for Jem, when he needed anything during the day Tahir had to be the one to go get them, she was making the most of this opportunity.

Alexis beamed as she picked out a bunch of cute outfits, which he would likely grow out of in the next two months.

A cheeky smile graced her lips as she picked out a wolf-print onsie. Well now she couldn't say no to that, it had grippy paw prints on the feet.

"Tahir look."

She giggled, showing off the garment.

Her hand gripped Tahir's finger tightly, her nail biting into his skin. She had quite a strong grip for a child her age. A benefit of having a Lycan mother. Spiro had been human when Rosa was conceived and had been changed after Rosa's mother became pregnant.

"Be nice, Rosa," Spiro reminded the girl in a firm whisper as she began shaing her hand, waving around Tahir's finger.

Spiro looked up as Tahir was called and grinned. "I couldn't help ymself when I saw it. Considering our nature, it would be a crime not to buy them in, wouldn't it, Rosa?" The llittle girl ignored her father, more interested n Tahir's finger than what Spiro had to say.

Tahir's finger was massive compared to Rosa's little fist.  

"Impressive grip."  He remarked in his gruff voice, smirking slightly at Spiro.

The Tahir that Alexis knew and the Tahir that Siro knew were two different people.  The only people who know a side to Tahir that wasn't just some big intimidating tough guy was Alexis, Jem, and Arzu.  

Tahir even liked Spiro, but he wasn't the grinning, chummy type.    

He glanced over at the pajamas and raised a brow, looking between it and his son.  

"More like a crime to make him wear it." Tahir said flatly.

"Oh don't be so serious."

Alexis teased, Tahir was a softy when they were in private but of course Lycan stubbornness when others were around.

"He's a baby, it's my job to put him in embarrassing clothes!"

She replied, moving over to sit beside the playing children.

"She's getting stronger by the day. It's resulted in many broken toys and tears," he responded almost tiredly. Rosa was notorous for being too rough with her toys. A fact that Spiro loathed.

"A parent must embarrass their child," Spiro agreed with a little smile.

There were quite a few large, framed pictures of his daughter sporting some of the shops wears, from cute dresses to jeans to the frightfully embarrassing dress-up costumes he stocked.

Rosa looked the closest to murderous an infant possibly could, dressed as a taco in a large picture on the back wall of the store.

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Taco child