by L. Michael
“I’d love that. It would remind me of your nursery.”
“And of me.”
“Yes, and of you. Raise your bottom for me.” Henry did, and I slid the new diaper underneath him. He eased back down, and I situated the fabric carefully, making sure there were no lumps or creases. Tucking his willy into his diaper and pulling it snug on his bottom, I taped the diaper up, then I leaned down and kissed his bellybutton again. “There you go. All clean.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“You’re welcome, Little One. Thank you for being so brave and letting me care for you.” I helped him off the table and slipped the jammies back on. “Okay, Cupcake. Grab your coloring book and some crayons.” For a moment, Henry just stared at me. Then he gave me a quick kiss and rushed over to one of the shelves. I watched him dig through it and smiled when he threw his fist in the air. He made me laugh, and I had to guess he found the one he wanted. With a beaming smile, he turned towards me with his prized coloring book. He took my hand and led me out to the kitchen. I helped him onto one of the stools, and Henry immediately unpacked his crayons while he smiled at me.
“I want dinosaurs for dinner,” Henry mumbled around his binky, and I raised an eyebrow.
“You need to ask nicely, Little Boy.” Henry blushed but pulled the binky out of his mouth.
“Please, Daddy, may I have dinosaurs for dinner?”
“Much better. Yes, you may.” I leaned over and kissed his head before I leaned back so he could look at me. “Do you want the smiley fries as well?”
“Can we have those tomorrow? I want some fun food tomorrow, too, please.”
“How about cheeseburger and fun fries tomorrow, then?”
“Yes, please, Daddy.”
“Then what are we having with the chicken nuggets?”
“Ketchup.”
Yeah, of course. Stupid question. Laughing, I shook my head. “No, we need to have some veggies with your nuggets. How about broccoli?” Henry scrunched up his nose in the most adorable way. “Well, it looks like I’m going to have dessert all for myself.”
“Fiiiine,” Henry huffed, and I kissed his head and turned to get dinner started. “Daddy?”
“Yes, Cupcake?”
“May I please have cheese sauce for the broccoli?”
“Of course. We can’t have broccoli without cheese sauce.” Henry smiled up at me, shoved his binky back in, then focused his attention on his coloring book. Ok, I guess Henry had dismissed me. Chuckling to myself, I started to make our dinner.
While the nuggets were in the oven and I waited for the water to boil, I turned around and watched Henry. He was sucking on his binky, softly humming, and coloring his picture. His legs were swinging back and forth happily. He looked so peaceful.
Watching him, I thought back to what Sam and Jakob had told me about Henry’s past. Or Michael Altmann. No, this was not Michael Altmann. This was my Henry, sweet, beautiful, talented, and resilient. Michael Altmann was a ghost, the kid that grew up in this compound of hatred. After hearing his story, the scars on Henry’s body horrified me. It had taken all my self-control not to show my reaction. The shock came first, and then I was torn between hurting for my Boy and anger at his damn brother.
Over the years, I had worked with a few people who’d fled religious cults, and I remember the stories they told about what it was like: the strict rules, the punishments, the brainwashing. But I could only imagine what it must have been like for a child to grow up with all the hate and the slanted world view. They taught him that there were people who were less just because they were different. It must have been so hard for him—a fourteen-year-old who knew that he was gay. Then realizing, according to those people, he had no right to live. God, what if the FBI hadn’t gotten him out?
“Daddy? Why are you looking at me so funny?” Henry's small voice pulled me out of my frightening thoughts.
“I’m sorry, Cupcake.” I blinked and concentrated on my Boy again. “I was just thinking about work.”
“Oh. Do you have a tough case?”
“Yes. Yes, but it’s okay. No more work until Monday. Just you and me for the weekend.” The lie tasted bitter, but I couldn’t tell him what was on my mind. Instead, I walked over and tilted his head up to kiss him softly. “I’m sorry, I worried you.”
“I thought…I thought I did something wrong.”
“No, no, Baby. You didn’t do anything wrong.” I glanced down at the picture he was coloring. It was cute with a rosebush and little fairies flying in and out of it. “You did an amazing job with the picture. It’s beautiful.”
“I’m not done yet.”
“Then I can’t wait to see the finished masterpiece.” Henry giggled and beamed up at me. Then he shoved the binky back in and went back to his book. For the second time tonight, I felt dismissed. I laughed to myself and put the broccoli into the boiling water.
In one of the cabinets, I found dinnerware and pulled out a plate for myself, and then I went to look for one for Henry. He had to have a unique plate when he was Little, and I only had to open one more to find them. There were colorful plates, small bowls, and sippy cups. Looking through the stack, I found a cute yellow, divided one with little dancing ducks on the rim.
On his plate, I arranged nuggets and some broccoli and looked over at Henry. He must have been watching me because he’d already put his crayons away. A wicked thought crossed my mind, and I grabbed our plates and carried them over to the table. When I walked back to grab drinks and silverware, I kissed his head and made sure that he looked at me. “Wash your hands, please, while I finish setting the table.”
“Will you help me, Daddy?”
“Of course, Cupcake.” I led him over to the sink, stepped up behind him, and took his hands in mine. I started the water and gently soaped up his hands. While doing so, I realized that he was not only nearly a head smaller than me, but his hands were also much smaller. They fit perfectly in mine, and I loved it. When we finished, I dried them and turned Henry around. “Can you carry the silverware over? But be careful.”
“Yes, Daddy.” Henry took the silverware so carefully it looked like he was handling explosives. So damn cute.
His bright yellow sippy cup got filled with cranberry juice, and I filled a glass with water for me. When I walked over to the table, Henry had already placed the silverware neatly by our plates. I sat down and handed him his cup. For a second, Henry just stared at it. Then he looked at his divided plate, back at me and back to his plate. When he looked back up at me, I smiled.
“Something wrong, sweetie?”
“You forgot something, Daddy.”
“No. Everything’s there. Nuggets and broccoli. And you got your juice.” His mouth dropped open in the most adorably way. He raised his hands and signed so quickly that I had a hard time following him.
“No. You forgot the ketchup and the cheese sauce.”
“Oh. You wanted ketchup and cheese sauce?” His eyes went wide.
“Yes.” He must have caught my lips twitching because suddenly, he huffed. “Bad, bad Daddy. You’re not allowed to tease me.”
“Says, who?” Finally, I gave in and laughed.
“I do. And every Little would agree with me.”
“Maybe you should write a guide then. The “Little” Guidebook for Daddies.” He raised his hands to answer, but then he dropped them and tilted his head. There was a look of concentration on his face that I’d never seen before. Then, without saying another word, he jumped off his chair and rushed over to his desk. I watched him rummage around until he found a notepad and began writing in it. Okay, lesson learned. Never give an author ideas when dinner was on the table.
I expected him to slip out of Little mode when he made his notes, but when he came back, he was pouting.
“I’ve written it all down. No teasing. No hiding dips and ketchup from Littles. And more dessert for the Little when Daddy is bad. Oh, and no tickling.”
Those were the most adorable rules e
ver that made me laugh. The other Daddies would kill me if he ever published them. When Henry sat back down and glared at me, I took a deep breath and smiled at him.
“Here, I thought I was so sly. I wanted to use the ketchup and cheese sauce as a bribe.”
“A bribe?”
“Yes. I want you to sit on my lap and let me feed you. I thought it would be easier to bribe you with ketchup and cheese sauce. Guess I was wrong.”
For a moment, Henry stared at me, and I thought that I made a colossal mistake. But then he jumped up, rushed over to the fridge, and came back with ketchup and cheese sauce. Before I could even blink, he plopped down on my lap and pulled his plate over.
“You could have just asked, you know.” Henry still pouted a little but handed me the ketchup and pointed to his plate.
Interesting.
Henry had a bit of a sassy little brat in him, too. I squeezed ketchup into the compartment next to the nuggets. When I put the bottle back on the table and grabbed the cheese sauce, Henry looked at me.
“I know I could have asked. But your reactions are so adorable.” Henry blushed and watched the dip pooling into a little sea on his plate. When I finished, I placed the cheese sauce next to the ketchup and gently tapped his chin. His big, blue eyes focused on me immediately. “Are you mad at me, Little Boy?”
Henry tilted his head. “Can I have chocolate milk and cupcake when we finish the movie?”
“For dessert?”
“Nope. After dessert. As a bribe to not be mad at you.”
“Sneaky. But I guess I deserve that.” I laughed and kissed his nose. “One cupcake and chocolate milk after dessert.”
“Okay. I’m not mad at you.” Henry grinned and tried to turn to eat, but I held him back.
“You’ve already wrapped me around your little finger.” Henry blushed but smiled at me. “You’re going to be the most spoiled Little ever.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No. No, it’s not.” I leaned forward and kissed him. “Now, let’s eat before your dinosaurs enter the next ice age.” Henry giggled. I speared a bit of nugget and dipped it into the ketchup and fed it to him.
It wasn’t a bad thing that he would be the most spoiled Little ever. Henry deserved it. I could only guess how cold his childhood must have been. It sure sounded like it hadn’t been pleasant. Henry deserved little treats. Chocolate milk, cupcakes, and dinosaur nuggets with ketchup would be his. Along with so much love, and I wanted to be the one to give it to him even if that meant being seen as the world's softest Daddy ever.
Henry grinned at me as he munched on a dino nugget. His cheeks had smears of ketchup, and his blue eyes were sparkling with joy. Yes, I would do everything in my power to make my beautiful Boy happy.
Chapter 9
Henry
An hour later, I lay in our blanket fort. Cuddled up against some pillows, I nibbled the rest of my bribe cupcake. Daddy shook his head and had teased me when I asked for my bribe cupcake moments after I finished my dessert. He said he would have to roll me into the bathroom for my bath. My bath. Daddy had promised me a bath after the movie, with bubbles and toys, and I couldn’t wait. But first, there would be the rest of Zootopia and a bottle with chocolate milk and more cuddling.
It was nice how affectionate Caden was with everything he did, and I loved it. The little treats, cuddling, nose kisses, even when he blew raspberries on my belly. It was precisely how I always imagined it would be to have a Daddy. He was sweet but also strict when he needed to be. Like when he made me ask nicely earlier. It made me giggle when I remembered he said that I already had him wrapped around my finger. The way he said it hadn’t been admonishing. Instead, he’d said it with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.
The linen that functioned as a door pushed aside, and my mouth dropped open. Caden had changed. He was now wearing a tight t-shirt that showed off his muscles and gray sweatpants that hung low on his hips. Fuck a duck. Caden truly was the hottest Daddy ever. I swallowed hard and watched him crawl into our fort. He came over to me and grinned.
“Hi.”
“Uh…” Words, Henry, words. You can do this. That’s your job, after all. “H-Hi?” There. A word. Caden laughed and held up a bottle. Frowning, I stared at it. Then I looked up again. “You promised me chocolate milk.”
“It is, Baby.”
“It’s white.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Are you teasing me again?”
“No, I’m going to surprise you with something delicious. Do you trust me?”
Skeptically I glanced at the bottle again but nodded. That earned me one of my favorite nose kisses when Caden crawled over to sit behind me. We had to wiggle around a bit until we were both comfortable with me on his lap. Caden reached around me and started the movie again, and then he brought the bottle up to my lips. I still expected milk, but when I began to suck on the tip, I moaned. It was probably louder than I wanted because I could feel Caden laughing under me. Oh my, that was so yummy. Surprised, I turned my head and looked at him.
“It’s white chocolate, Cupcake.”
“Wow. It’s so much better than chocolate milk.”
“I know. Only the best for my Little Roo.” Caden winked.
His words touched something deep inside me, and I had to turn around to hide the tears that threatened to spill over. It wasn’t only his words. It was the way he looked at me when he said it. It was the honesty and sincerity I saw in his eyes. It was how I always dreamed a Daddy would look at me. He was here, and I found him. My Daddy wrapped his free arm around my waist and pulled me closer to his chest. With me turned away from him, a conversation wasn’t possible. It wasn’t an issue because of the way he held me and kissed my head spoke volumes. Sighing happily, I leaned into his embrace and concentrated on the movie and my yummy bottle.
When the movie was over, I turned around and looked at my Daddy. My Daddy. I so loved the sound of it.
“Can I have my bath now, Daddy?”
“Can I have a kiss first?”
Giggling, I raised my head and kissed Daddy softly. In return, Caden smiled at me and patted my bottom.
“Let’s go. After your bath, I’m going to get you ready for bed.”
“Daaaadddddyyyy,” I whined. It was way too early for me to go to bed. It was just after nine, and usually, this was the most creative time for me. Plus, I didn’t want to miss anything while I was sleeping. I wanted to enjoy the whole weekend with Caden, which meant I had to be awake as much as possible.
“I said we would get ready for bed. I didn’t say anything about sleeping, did I?”
Oh. Right. “Can we watch another movie?”
“Another one?”
Can there ever be enough movies? Nope. “Yes. Please, Daddy.” I added when he raised an eyebrow. But then he grinned and kissed my nose again.
“Okay, but I get to choose this time.”
“We’re not going to watch Law and Order.” Caden blinked at me. Then he leaned his head back and laughed.
“I would have suggested Brother Bear. But okay, we can watch Law and…”
“Nooooo.” Caden flinched, and I ducked my head. Shit. “Sorry. I…I…” Caden gently took hold of my chin and tilted my head up.
“I don’t care if you speak too loud. I love hearing your voice, Cupcake. You just speak to me in a way that is comfortable for you, whether it’s talking or sign language, okay?”
“Okay.” Best Daddy ever. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.” Caden kissed my nose again, then he smiled. “But I have something for your bath time you can thank me for.”
“What is it? Bath toys? A duck? A boat? Oh, is it a sharkie?” Caden waggled his eyebrows, and I knew that I wouldn’t get an answer until I was in the tub. Scrambling off his lap, I crawled out of our fort. I didn’t even care that I startled Charlie, who had been sleeping. All I cared about was the surprise. Stepping out of the blanket fort, I turned and waited impatiently for Caden
to follow me.
“Daddy. Come on, hurry.” When Caden finally came out, I’d already shimmied halfway out of my new jammies. Caden stopped and just stared at me for a second, which was just long enough for me to doubt myself again. He reached out to stop me as I moved to cover myself.
“You look so cute like this.”
“I…I do?” I looked down and tried to see myself through his eyes. The cute jammies were hanging off me, the edge of my diaper peeking out…I guess, for a Daddy, it must be appealing to see me this way. Caden stepped up and took my hand in his.
“Come on. Let’s get you ready for your bath so you can play with your surprise.”
Oh, yes, the surprise. Daddy Caden led me to the bathroom. It was one of the few closed rooms in my apartment, and I spent extra time planning it. It was a space to relax in and be comfortable. There were light blue and white subway tiles, a large skylight, a large walk-in shower, and an elevated tub. It was the perfect bathtub that would prevent giving Daddy backpain. There were even plants that would love the humid climate in the room. I dropped the jammies to the floor and turned to look at Caden, who glanced around the room.
“Wow. This bathroom is amazing.”
“Thank you.”
“You did a great job remodeling the apartment,” he signed because he was busy looking around the room so I couldn’t see his lips—such a considerate Daddy.
As he looked back to me, I signed, “I wanted something comfortable and something that was truly mine.”
“Well, it’s beautiful.” Caden smiled, knelt in front of me, and helped me out of the jammies. When he got up, he looked down at me. “Do you need some privacy first?”
“No. I’m good. All dry.”
“Great. Since you are having a bath, you’ll get all clean in there. Are you good with that or do you want to go to your nursery?”
“I’m good here.”
“Not cold?”
“No, Daddy.” I smiled up at him. It was such a Daddy thing to ask and to worry about. But I wasn’t cold. If anything, I felt a little bit hot because I was so excited to get a bath with my Daddy.