The two years that had passed since Andrew was born were pretty stressful and wonderful at the same time. The stressful part was raising Andrew. While he was pretty reasonable during the day, he was very fussy during the night. Andrew hated being left alone and would cry until Grey or Cedric came and comforted him. It took a couple hours before Andrew could finally be put to sleep. As for when Grey and Cedric were at work, Cedric would call Cherry to watch over Andrew. He REFUSED to let Asmodeus babysit Andrew on his own. Another stressful part was when Andrew discovered his powers. First came Andrew's primary weapon. It was a sort of gray blaster. Each week afterward, Andrew learned how to use more SOUL weapons until he had all of them. Things were heck for everyone in the apartment until they finally got Andrew to control his powers. The only weird part about having the baby, Grey had to put Andrew up to his swollen upper chest at different times. Luckily, though, Andrew didn't stay a baby for long. Near Cedric's birthday (May 17), Andrew became something like a young child. He began to speak simple words as well as walk. At this point, Cedric had ordered a bed for his son/daughter. As the months went by, Andrew kept on growing and developing. He began to speak more, and he formed his own personality. This was when Andrew became a joy to have around because Andrew was a very energetic and upbeat person. He enjoyed playing games w/ anyone he could, usually Asmodeus. When the time came to get him permanent clothes, Cherry had a shirt custom-ordered for Andrew alongside a bowtie. The jeans were the same brand as Cedric's, while the shoes were the same as Grey's. Something else Andrew liked quite a bit was cooking. When Grey and Cedric taught him how to do so, he instantly loved it! His favorite part ended being spraying the food w/ spices. While the food turned out good, Andrew's intensity when he sprinkled the food could be surprisingly intimidating. As for Andrew's learning situation, he had to be homeschooled for a bit due to his fast growth. As for how the Freelancers felt about Andrew when they met him, all of them (especially Polychrome Benjamin) instantly liked him. Whenever Grey and Cedric weren't home, Polychrome Ben, Cherry, Asmodeus, and Andrew would have little fun time sessions together. They'd namely do stuff like play games, sing songs, etc. Finally was the part where Andrew learned about what his parents did for a living. While he wasn't particularly fond of what Grey did, he wanted to absolutely get into Cedric's line of work! When Cedric learned of this, he smiled at Andrew.
"Wait until the end of this summer," Cedric had said during the year that Andrew had finally stopped growing, "We'll test you out then."
"Aw, c'mon, dad! Why do I have to wait that long?" Andrew had asked.
His voice was actually sort of like a somewhat higher-pitched version of Grey's voice. Except Andrew's sounded a little less rough. Cedric ruffled his hand through Andrew's "hair."
"Because I want it to coincide w/ you going to school," Cedric explained.
Andrew gave him a confused look that reminded Cedric a lot of Grey.
"School?" Andrew asked.
"It's where kids and teens go to learn. The only reason you haven't gone yet is because of your fast growth," Cedric explained.
Andrew pursed his stitched lips and swished his tail.
"But why do I have to wait until then?" Andrew asked.
"Because I'd like you to find a partner to go on missions w/. It's not that I don't think you're competent. It's just that it's more fun this way," Cedric said.
Andrew pondered that.
"Ok, fine," Andrew said w/ a pout.
Cedric smiled and gave his offspring a hug.
"Good. Trust me, it'll be worth the wait," Cedric said, "Near the end of the summer, I'll see how well you can do on a test mission."
Cedric then walked off into the kitchen. Andrew gave a defiant stare.
I will prove that I'm capable, Andrew thought.