"Let's get you changed then."
Koa laid back down, spreading his arms wide and waiting.
Daddy no longer held back. He eased Koa's pants and underwear off, keeping his bottom firmly on the plastic coating. Then he went about powdering Koa and easing the diaper under his bottom. Once he was able to snap the sides closed, he admired his work, running a hand over the front of it. Koa nearly whimpered. The touch was erotic, but it was also not. It was gentle and comforting in a way he didn't expect to feel.
Any other time he had regressed this Little — which, to be honest, was only one or two different instances when he was alone or with other littles he felt safe enough to be that way with — he didn't get this euphoria. Maybe he could do this more. Maybe it wasn't him stepping outside of his own desires to give his Daddy something he wanted. Maybe it was something Koa wanted too. He just hadn't had the right person to be with.
The thoughts ran through his mind one after the other as his Daddy went about changing his shirt. There was some finagling to get his arms through and his head tucked in, but once the onesie was down and over him, he felt as soft as a cloud. The paisley-covered fabric was made for adult littles. Daddy snapped the buttons between Koa's legs, then put his hands under Koa's arms to lift him up into a seated position.
Koa smiled because his Daddy was getting the hang of this. He was seeing that Koa was as pliable as needed to let him lead. And that was a gift, one for both of them.
Once Koa was upright, his Daddy reached back in the bag and came out with a brush and some hair accessories.
"I'm going to put your hair up and out of the way so that you're able to play and roll around how you want, sweetheart." Koa gave a gentle nod. He would do whatever Manny wanted, and he could admit his hair was troublesome. After that first time his Daddy had brushed it, Koa admitted to him that he had a thing for people who played with his hair.
It was something that used to get him in trouble when he was younger. He would leave home with his hair neat and return with it a tangled mess, because he would sit and let other children play with the strands, braiding it and twisting it, pinning it all kinds of ways. The older he got, the less of a problem it was because the girls were older and wiser. Instead, he would come home with these elaborate designs of braids and sometimes even temporary spray dye mixed in. His parents at the time just laughed it off because what could you do? There was no fighting him on it, just like you couldn't convince him to cut it off.
Koa's hair was a big part of him and his Daddy understood that. He nurtured it.
Koa closed his eyes, letting the happiness of the day wash over him. It was perfect. Everything about it. His Daddy was there. He was with his friends. He got to regress and not worry about a thing. He'd found a happy medium on his work-life balance, and the future seemed bright.
EPILOGUE
Life hada funny way of working out.
Koa knew that firsthand.
He never would have guessed that walking into the club on one Monday would lead him to find his forever Daddy. He probably should have considered it given he was a Little and he would meet other people in the lifestyle at his job. It just wasn't in the plan, so to speak.
And then Manny showed up and he was everything that Koa had dreamed of and more.
They'd been together seven months, and it was pure bliss. Every day was something new. They built a home together, moving in with one another at the two-month mark because being apart was exhausting for both of them. Where Koa might have been considered needy by others, Manny saw him for what he was — a Little who wanted his Daddy around.
And it was easy. One would think having to combine households would cause problems for some people.Who gets to keep what? What furniture stays and goes? How do you blend completely different lives together seamlessly?
Koa felt like he could give a TED talk on the experience.
They'd set out with hopes of it going well and it exceeded all of it, because his Daddy was structured and organized in a way that Koa wasn't but often tried to be. Manny had taken his laptop out one day while at Koa's place, opened up a fresh, clean spreadsheet, and told his boy to walk around describing everything he owned.
Koa had laughed at first, thinking this was some weird kinky game they were going to play. When Manny had kept his gaze serious, Koa knew that there was more to it. They spent hours cataloging everything, making an inventory that an insurance agent would have salivated over. When they finished, Manny opened up his own spreadsheet of his place. They cross-referenced the two, noting what each liked, and by the time they went to bed that night, it was a done deal. They donated what wasn't going to be kept. Of course, their friends had first pick. And then they packed it up.
Now with the seasons about to change again, Koa could feel something in the air. It was a shift, a slight difference. The last time he felt that way was when they did the move. But it had beenweekssince then. Weeks where he should have been fine. Yet there was a nervousness under his skin.
Manny had asked him more than once if he needed anything, if maybe he wanted to regress a little more, or if he wasn't feeling well. They had tried everything, experimenting and exploring, yet nothing felt right.
It wasn't until he was sitting with Dill one day that it came to him. Well, really, it was more that Dill told him.
"You should just get married already," Dill groaned. "You're living together, you're in love. What is the point in waiting?"
Koa's mouth had dropped open. He didn't know what to make of the suggestion. Yes, they had shared I love yous. The beautiful night after a particularly lengthy play session at the club, they'd returned home to cuddle, and the words had slipped out from Koa's lips in his foggy state. Manny had been exuberant, kissing him and lavishing him with affection. Those kisses turned into whimpers and groans as they made their way to the bedroom. The next morning, Koa had woken up feeling lighter somehow. He was no longer holding back his tongue, and they'd shared the words dozens of times since.
But marriage? They hadn't discussed it. It wasn't something at the forefront of his mind. But his gut told him that Dill was correct, that there was a next step, and Koa was nervous.
That night, Koa lay still in the dark long after Manny's breathing had deepened into sleep.
The room was quiet. Warm. Manny's arm was draped across his waist the way it always was, heavy and grounding, and Koa stared up at the ceiling and tried to figure out why his chest felt so full it almost hurt.
Married.
