Rodrick was in the living room, rocking his daughter gently in his arms. She was fussy, fighting sleep, and he was humming softly to her while pacing the room. It had been one of those long days where everything felt loud, and all he wanted was for her to settle down.

Of course, it wasn’t just the baby who was loud.

“Rodrick!” Manny whined, stomping over with his toy truck. “Play with me now!”

Rodrick sighed, shifting the baby higher against his shoulder. “Manny, not now. She’s almost asleep. Just give me a minute.”

“No!” Manny stomped his foot harder, his little face scrunched up. “You don’t care about me anymore! You only care about the baby!”

Greg, sprawled on the couch, snorted. “He’s not wrong.”

Rodrick shot Greg a death glare but kept his voice steady with Manny. “That’s not true, dude. I care about you, but right now I need to take care of her. She’s just a baby—she can’t wait like you can.”

But Manny wasn’t having it. He grabbed one of his toy trucks and slammed it against the coffee table, making a loud BANG. The baby jolted awake in Rodrick’s arms and immediately started crying.

“DAMMIT, MANNY!” Rodrick snapped, his voice rising before he could stop himself. “Do you ever think about anyone but yourself?! She was finally falling asleep!”

Manny’s eyes went wide, his lower lip wobbling. “I—I just wanted you to play with me.”

Rodrick’s chest rose and fell quickly, frustration boiling over. He bounced the baby in his arms, trying to calm her sobs while glaring at Manny. “You’re not the only person in this house, okay? You’re not a baby anymore, Manny—you can wait. She can’t.”

The room went quiet except for the baby’s crying. Greg looked stunned, sitting up slowly. He’d seen Rodrick mad plenty of times before, but this was different—Rodrick was protective, fierce, and exhausted all at once.

Manny’s face crumpled, and for a moment, it looked like he might scream back. But instead, he ran off toward his room, slamming the door behind him.

Rodrick groaned, running a hand down his face as he bounced the baby. His voice dropped to a whisper, softer now. “I didn’t mean to yell, princess. Daddy’s just tired.”

You walked in just then, holding shopping bags, and froze at the tension in the room. “What happened?”

Greg answered before Rodrick could. “Manny freaked out because Rodrick wouldn’t play with him, woke the baby up, and Rodrick lost it.”

You set the bags down, walking over to rub Rodrick’s arm. His shoulders sagged the second you touched him, the anger giving way to guilt.

“I shouldn’t have yelled,” he muttered, looking down at his daughter. “But he just… doesn’t get it.”

You leaned against him gently. “You’re doing your best. You’ve got a baby, and a brother who still acts like one. That’s a lot to handle.”

Rodrick exhaled slowly, rocking his daughter until her cries softened again. “Yeah. I just… I don’t want to mess this up. For her. Or for anyone.”

From down the hall, Manny’s muffled sniffles could be heard.

Rodrick closed his eyes, his jaw tight. “I’ll talk to him later. When I’ve calmed down.”

And you knew he would—because this was the new Rodrick. Still sarcastic, still stubborn, but learning how to be more than just the messy teenager he used to be.