He spotted more familiar faces, Nia, Brooklyn, and Scar. His friends, who were regulars, but he didn't always get to spend time with, were all gathered. It felt like it was a party, like a celebration was going on, but Koa couldn't figure out who it was for.
He tugged the blanket around his shoulders tighter. The question was on the tip of his tongue. He just wasn't sure how to phrase it.
Manny could sense it, he assumed, because in the next second he explained, "We all wanted to help you relax, sweetheart. Briar called in reinforcements. She said that she wanted you back tonormal, rather than this overbearing person you had pretended to be.”
Koa’s eyes whipped to Briar, who stood off to the side still. There was no way she could have heard what Manny said, but the smirk on her face and the way she wiggled her fingers to wave at him made it seem like she had.
Koa grinned back at her, shaking his head slowly. Gosh, he loved that woman, loved her to pieces.
Manny pressed a kiss against his temple, then with a hand against his back urged him forward, "Play with your friends for a little bit, sweetheart. I'll be right here. If you need me, just turn and look my way. My eyes will always be on you."
Koa nodded, then shuffled forward. The minute he was in reaching distance, the others practically tackled him. He was wrapped up in hugs and praise. It was perfect, wonderful.
He couldn't have asked for a better moment. Ethan moved in once everyone stepped back. His gaze was stern, yet there was still a lot of his Little side peeking through.
"You've been working too hard," Ethan said.
Koa snorted. "You're one to talk, Ethan. I remember having to bring you food because things were bad at work."
Ethan ducked his head for a moment before straightening and putting his hands on his hips. "True, but I listened and got better. You," he pointed at Koa, "have not been taking care of yourself. So now we play."
Koa nodded quickly. "We play," he repeated. The group gravitated towards the open space on the floor. There were toysalready spread out, dolls and blocks, a few race cars, and some coloring books with a pile of crayons in the middle.
Koa wanted to do a bit of everything. He wanted to create a whirlwind of Little fun because he had missed it all. He hadn't even been taking care of himself at home.
His stuffies and blankets had been abandoned. His body too exhausted the moment he stepped inside to do anything but shower off the day's work and drop face down on the mattress.
He had to apologize to his babies later. They didn't deserve to be treated that way.
Ethan tugged him down to move beside their friend Dill, who was building a tall stack of blocks.
"Hey Dill," Koa whispered, not wanting to startle them.
Dill nodded, though they didn't look over.
"I, Koa, I build a tower." Koa eased beside them, then picked up a block to hand over.
Ethan laid down on his stomach across from them with his coloring book and started filling in the lines on the page.
The night moved on that way, the group shifting and changing with various toys and jokes and teasing.
The Daddies and Doms on duty brought over snacks and drinks. It was one big party and Koa was in heaven. He could not remember why work had seemed so important. He couldn't understand why he had buried himself in his paperwork when this existed. He'd much rather spend his time here.
At one point, the littles decided to wrestle. Koa was caught up in the mix and in a tangled heap of blankets and boy, he foundhimself disheveled. When he peeked his head out, it was to see his Daddy kneeling in front of him.
"Hey, sweetheart," he said.
Koa grinned and giggled, his toes wiggling as he watched his Daddy look him over.
"You've made a bit of a mess there with your hair," he pointed to the strands that hung loosely. Some covered Koa's face and the rest was still caught up in the ponytail holder he'd been wearing.
His Daddy lifted his hand to reveal a brush. It was Koa's brush, the one from the office that he would sometimes use when he needed to clean himself up.
"You want me to take care of that?"
It was said as a question, but Koa knew that wasn't what his Daddy meant. He knew that he needed to sit up and let the man have at it.
Besides, the longer he went without managing his hair, the worse the tangle would get.
