"I'll make him some soup," Jacob said, "but one of you will have to take it to him. Or maybe the two of you together?" The last part came out as a question as his eyes tilted down to where Manny and Koa had their hands locked together.
Koa nodded, then turned his eyes up to Manny. "You take. We soup."
He blinked a few times because in his head the words had been right, but out loud they didn't seem to make sense. Manny chuckled. "Yes, we can take the soup to him, as long as you know where his office is."
Koa smiled and bounced on his toes. "I know, I know!" he cheered.
Jacob and Manny both laughed at his excited energy. "Then give me about half an hour to get it together," Jacob said. "I know that Dill brought some fresh veggies around that he had extra. I'll put them to good use. Why don't you two go play for a bit? I'll come find you when it's ready."
Koa's eyes went wide at the suggestion. With the Monday mixer over and the time of waiting to go to Ethan in place, there wasn't anything else for him to do. He had already finished the work that Briar had allotted for him as far as the club went, and he would typically go play in the main area with the other littles. But there was Manny. And Manny was a Daddy. And Jacob had just implied that the two of them should do something together.
Manny smiled softly, then gave Jacob a nod and turned back towards the door, pulling Koa behind him. Once they were out of the kitchen, Manny paused. He pulled Koa into a secluded corner, took both of his hands in his, and said, "We don't have to play or do any type of scene if you don't want to. But if you're open to the idea, I would like to be your Daddy, even if it's temporary."
Koa's entire body shook with the idea. Manny wanted to be his Daddy, even just to play. Most people were intimidated by his role as part owner of the club. They heard what he did and made judgments. But Manny didn't seem to mind. He treated Koa like he would any other little. It was an opportunity Koa might never get again, which meant it was very easy for him to say his next words.
"Yes, please."
CHAPTER 3
Since Manny was new,Koa understood he wouldn't have any idea of where to go to play.
He laced his fingers with Manny's much longer ones and tugged, pointing with his free hand towards where his favorite part of the play area was.
It had been his specific request to have an area like this, because as varied as being a Little could be, Koa had a preference, and that was to play comfortably on the floor for as long as possible. Whether it was blocks or coloring or the dreaded Play-Doh, he wanted to be as low to the ground as he could be. It helped him regress. It was also sometimes easier just to crawl around between places than to have to stand all the way up and be big. So when he reached the padded area and dropped down to all fours, he felt a sense of rightness move over him. He looked back up at Manny, who was smiling down at him. It made all of him feel fuzzy.
Tilting his head to the side, he sat up on his heels and said, "Daddy, play."
He wasn't sure if Manny would come down to the floor with him or simply grab toys. They only had half an hour, after all. They couldn't make a huge mess. While Jacob wouldn't really care about the soup not getting there fresh, Koa didn't want to be a reason to delay things being delivered. He wanted it all to go perfectly.
Everything, including his time with his new Daddy. A Daddy who said he wanted to belong to Koa even if it was only temporary. Koa found the idea very silly. Manny was gorgeous, and if he was a good Daddy, then he was going to have a hard time getting rid of Koa.
As Koa stared at him, Manny crouched down into a squat. He eased his hands forward, then crawled slowly towards where Koa had perched.
Koa could feel his body heating up even more. There was a mixture of excitement at wanting to play with someone, but also a need for closeness. He wanted to be touched, to be petted, wanted to sink into the regression to the point that nothing else mattered.
When Manny reached him, he rose to match Koa's position. With his hands on his thighs, he looked around at the various boxes of toys. "What shall we play with first, sweetheart?" Daddy asked. Daddy, because that's who he was, and Koa would be right to think of him that way.
Koa tapped his finger to his bottom lip as he looked around. What was something they could play that didn't take long? He decided the best thing to do would be to see how Manny would handle him, even when he was at his smallest.
Koa pointed a finger to his chest and said, "I is baby."
Manny smiled softly, not bothered at all by both the baby talk and the fact that Koa was making himself the game.
"Oh, my baby," Daddy said. "Is my baby tired?" Koa shook his head. Manny then asked, "Is my baby hungry?" Koa thought about it for a moment and decided that no, he wasn't. So he shook his head again.
His eyes cut over to a blanket that was folded up next to the toys. His Daddy caught the movement and smiled even wider. "I see my boy wants a cuddle."
Koa clapped his hands and bounced on his heels. He kept doing the motion even as Daddy crawled over to grab the blanket and came back. It was one of the large, oversized ones that Koa loved. He'd had to hunt them down because they weren't sold in regular stores. It was meant to be wrapped around a person no matter their size. You could bundle yourself and not have to do anything.
As Koa watched his Daddy, he realized that the other man had picked up on so much more than he thought. Because instead of just draping the blanket around Koa's shoulders like others might, he rose up and shook the blanket out, laying it over the floor. Then he folded one corner down and motioned for Koa to climb on.
Koa was curious to see what was going to happen. No one had done this, and it didn't look familiar. So instead of questioning, he dropped down belly first on the fold.
His Daddy chuckled at the move, then tapped his hip. "Flip over, baby. On your back. I want the fold at the base of your neck, right at your shoulders."
Koa frowned for a moment, not quite sure he understood, but did it anyway. He was a good boy. He could follow instructions, and if it meant he got to play with his Daddy while they waited on the food, then it was a win. He turned and wiggled down until he was just how his Daddy wanted.
"Good boy." The praise washed over him. It was bliss, pure bliss. To have done something so right, to be called a good boy for listening and following instructions.
