His body was wrapped in a blanket, not too tight, but it was firm enough that he wasn't going to be able to wiggle around.
Then Manny opened the lid to the container to reveal pizza bagels.
Koa gasped at the sight. "Oh, I love those."
His Daddy chuckled and reached inside and pulled that one, bringing it to Koa's lips.
"I know, sweetheart. You mentioned it before, and when I was preparing to come intervene, I knew it was the best choice to bring along.”
Koa nodded, opening his mouth obediently and taking a bite. At the flavor on his tongue, his eyes closed, and he whined loudly. His mind started to drift into his Little mind.
He could feel the stress slipping away as his Daddy pulled him closer and continued feeding him.
As it always did when he regressed, time moved in a weird sort of way. A small part of him knew he should be focusing, knew that he needed to keep an eye on the clock so that he didn't let the day get away from him.
But the bigger part of him, which ironically enough wasn't big in that sense, had decided to not pay attention at all.
There were too many good things in this moment to just stop between his amazing Daddy, the delicious food, and the coziness of being in his lap.
Koa was helpless. Why change anything? When he finished, Daddy took a napkin from his pocket and wiped Koa's face.
Then he turned Koa's face up to look him over. Koa could see the adoration in Manny's eyes. He could feel how much he cared for him.
"Thank you, Daddy," he said, voice soft and shy.
“Anytime, sweetheart," Manny replied. He pressed a gentle kiss to Koa's lips.
It wasn't heated or passionate. There was no intention behind it other than connection.
They sat there for a few more minutes before Koa got jittery. Even then, it wasn't that he wanted to return to work.
His Little mind wanted to get up and move to go out into the club and see his friends.
For a moment, he thought over the list of things he probably should be doing. The spreadsheets weren't going to sort themselves out.
Yet, he absolutely did not want to look at them. He was tired of work, tired of not taking care of himself.
So instead, he looked at his Daddy in the eye and asked for the one thing he knew he needed. "We play, Daddy?"
Manny raised his brows at the question, clearly shocked.
"We absolutely can, sweetheart. Are you going to be okay if we take the time off?"
Koa bit his lip and nodded slowly. "It can wait. I've missed you. I missed this. I shouldn't have been pushing too hard."
A bit of his Big side came out as he explained, but it quickly went away when Manny stroked a finger along his cheek.
The touch was gentle and sweet. It made Koa feel safe and protected and also proved how much Manny understood him.
"Then we should go see your friends, sweetheart. They've all missed you very much."
The pair left the office and went out into the main area. Friendly greetings rose up as everyone saw them together, fingers linked. Koa was surprised at how happy everyone was, at how things seemed to be running smoothly.
All of the panic he’d felt, the worry over whether or not things were being handled drifted away. Had he been creating problems where there were none, was he avoiding his Daddy in some way?
He didn't let himself dwell on it too much, partly because now wasn't the time, but also because they arrived at his favorite play area, and he saw his friends there.
Ethan and Dill cheered at his arrival. Briar was there as well, standing in the corner, a smirk on her face.
